Long Lost Love Revisited
by Mrs Carmichael
Summary: Secrets are like ghosts, some stay hidden for years and then come back to haunt you. When Sam unwittingly walks back into her ex-lovers life, will her deepest, darkest secret be exposed? CHARACTER DEATH! Full summary inside, plz R&R xxx
1. Face From The Past

**Heya guys, here's another new fic from me.**

**This fic is quite different from everything else I've written (I think!) but I hope you'll love it all the same.**

**This is for Laura AKA SaMaNdPhIl4eVeR who helped me come up with the title. Thanks huni!**

**For the purposes of this fic, Sam and Stuart have been married for the last sixteen years (been together eighteen years) but Sam uses her maiden name for work, Stuart is a DCI, Sam is DI and Phil is DS (as in actual TB), Phil hasn't had Alfie and Madison and Abi is at university.**

**Please R&R, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxx**

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Long Lost Love Revisited

**Summary: Secrets are like ghosts, some stay hidden for years and then come back to haunt you. When Sam unwittingly walks back into her ex-lovers life, will her deepest, darkest secret be exposed? CHARACTER DEATH!**

**Chapter 1- Face From The Past**

The double doors of Sun Hill CID swung open as DCI Stuart Turner walked through them with the latest addition to the team, DI Samantha Nixon. Not only this, Sam was also his wife; they had been married for the past sixteen years and had two children together: 17-year-old Marcus and 15-year-old Adele. Sam also had a 20-year-old daughter called Abi, the product of a relationship she had had before Stuart came along. Stuart stopped just outside the briefing room door and turned to face Sam, 'you ready for this?' he asked.

Sam looked up at him and smiled, 'of course I am,' she replied. 'I don't think I'd have been given the job if I wasn't up to the challenge.'

'I know,'

'And I don't think you'd have told me about the job if you didn't think I'd be up for it,'

'Well…with Jack retiring, I was promoted and there was a vacant position, I thought you'd be great in the role,'

Stuart's predecessor in the role of DCI, Jack Meadows, had been forced to retire due to health problems. Three months ago, he had suffered another heart attack and after this, he had been advised that it would be better for his long-term health if he retired. This he did, but not before appointing Stuart as his successor, much to fellow DI Neil Manson's fury. Before his departure, Jack had also held interviews for Stuart's replacement DI and Sam had been given the job.

'You know what I realised this morning?' Stuart asked, breaking the silence that had descended between them.

'What?' Sam replied.

'How great it is to be working with you again,'

'Speak for yourself!' Sam joked, 'I've got to put up with you 24-7.'

'Don't tell me you don't love it really,'

Stuart leant across and kissed Sam softly on the lips. They were unaware that they were being watched…

* * *

'Wow!' DC Jo Masters exclaimed from the briefing room, 'he's got in there quick.'

'What are you talking about?' DS Phil Hunter asked as he turned to face her.

Jo gestured towards Stuart and Sam, who were still kissing outside in the main office; Phil followed Jo's movements and saw them. Phil instantly recognised the woman was kissing, all the feelings he had once felt for her came flooding back. He would never be able to forget the face of that woman. He felt his blood boil as he watched, she had moved on, forgotten about him, that was something he'd never been able to do. Phil had never got over losing her, he was engaged to Cindy but deep down, he knew he was simply settling for second best. The woman of his dreams was married, already taken and couldn't possibly be his, no matter how much he wished things could've been different.

* * *

Sam pulled away from Stuart and smiled, 'come on, 'lets do this,' she said.

Stuart nodded as he pushed the door to the briefing room open. He and Sam walked in, Phil looked up at Sam and his heart did a somersault, she was pretty much the same woman he had met nearly sixteen years ago, the same woman he had fallen in love with, the same woman who had dumped him all those years ago to go back to her husband.

Stuart stood in front of his CID colleagues and cleared his throat, the chatter died down almost immediately. 'As you all know,' he started. 'Since Jack's retirement and my promotion, we have been looking for a new DI to work alongside DI Manson. DI Nixon has agreed to take the position as of today…'

This was met was a few murmurs from some members of CID, 'no prizes for guessing how come we've been landed with her,' Jo whispered, leaning towards Phil.

'I don't know what you mean,' Phil replied.

'Oh come on sarge, you saw them. If that's his girlfriend, then he probably put in a good word for her with Jack,'

'That's not his girlfriend,' Phil said. 'She's married.'

'To him?!' Jo exclaimed.

Stuart coughed loudly, 'thank you DC Masters, DS Hunter. Yes, Sam is indeed my wife but that has absolutely no bearing on why she was given the job…'

'Yeah right,' Jo muttered.

'…I'll leave you with DI Manson, he'll show you the ropes,' Stuart said, turning to Sam.

She nodded, 'that's it, back to work,' he finished.

Everyone began to get up and move towards the door, 'be gentle with her,' Stuart whispered to Neil before leaving the briefing room to go back to his office.

Sam smiled at her new colleagues as they all began to file out. Her eyes swept past Phil as he walked past her, she went back and looked again. She recognised this man, her stomach gave an unpleasant lurch as she remembered, remembered the last time she'd seen Phil Hunter. Sixteen years was a long time and the years hadn't changed him at all. Sam couldn't believe what she was seeing, Phil worked here and now she was faced with a very difficult task. She had to prevent her deepest, darkest secret from being exposed, Stuart couldn't know, Sam knew how much it would hurt him if he found out the truth, that most of their marriage had potentially been based on a lie.

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'Come on sarge,' Jo said to Phil later that morning, 'how did you know that DI Nixon was married?'

Phil looked at her, 'I don't want to talk about it,' he replied stiffly.

'Oooh, like that is it?'

Phil stood up and took his coat off the back of his chair. 'Where are you going?' Jo called as he began to walk towards the double doors.

'Out!' Phil vaguely called back before leaving as Sam came out of her office.

Sam walked towards Jo's desk, 'was it something I said?' she asked.

Jo shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't know guv, he's been acting weirdly since the briefing,' she replied.

Sam sighed to herself, 'can you tell him when he gets back that I want to see him, in my office,'

'Will do guv,' Jo said.

Sam smiled at her as she walked back towards her office, she bit her bottom lip, she knew what was up with him, but she wasn't sure of how to act on it. Sam knew she had to do this, it was best for everyone.

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Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know by leaving a review! :) xxxx


	2. Unfinished Business

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous one: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, Leah, Tee, ****Miss.SunHill, Beccy, SassyJ and Jodie. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

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**Chapter 2- Unfinished Business**

Phil came back into the office later that afternoon; he walked over to his desk and sat down. He had hardly had to time to settle himself down before Sam came out of her office. 'DS Hunter!' she called over to him, 'a word please.'

Phil looked up at her but then turned his attention back to his paperwork. 'Today would be nice,' Sam said.

Phil sighed deeply as he got out of his seat and followed Sam into the office. He closed the door behind her and turned to face Sam. 'What's up with you?' Sam asked, getting straight to the point.

'Nothing,' Phil replied.

'There's definitely something wrong, Jo said you've been acting weird since the briefing this morning,'

'Not weird, I was just a bit….shocked, surprised but overall, pleased to see you again, sixteen years is a long time but in that time, you haven't changed a bit,'

'What are you talking about?' Sam asked, trying to act innocent.

'You know exactly what I'm talking about, there's unfinished business between the two of us,'

'Really? The only business I had with you, I finished nearly sixteen years ago, or have you forgotten that?'

'How can I forget, I have never been able to forget what happened that day, as I'm sure you haven't,'

'That's where you're wrong Phil, I have put it behind me, I've moved on, I think its about time that you did the same, if Stuart finds out he'll…'

'He'll what?' Phil interrupted.

'He'll go ballistic,'

'He'd go ballistic if he found out that almost his entire marriage is based on lies, is that really what you want?'

'Of course not, I love him,'

'You loved me once too,' Phil whispered quietly.

Sam looked at him, she smiled slightly, 'once, yes I did. But not anymore. I've moved on Phil,' she replied.

'I see,'

'Look, I know it's not ideal but you're going to have to get used to me being your boss because otherwise, you won't last long under me, do you understand?'

Phil nodded, 'yes guv,' he said.

'Good,' Sam replied.

Phil went to walk away but then turned back, 'are you busy tonight guv?' he asked.

'Not especially, why?' Sam asked.

'I was just wondering if you fancied coming down the pub for a drink, welcome you to the team,'

'Yeah, I'd like that, thanks,'

Phil smiled at her as he opened the door and left the office, closing it once again after him.

Sam watched through her window as Phil went back to sit down at his desk. She sighed quietly to herself, Phil was right; she had never forgotten what had happened nearly sixteen years ago. She was faced with a constant reminder of the choices that she had made all those years ago, her recklessness could have jeopardised her marriage to Stuart and she had never forgiven herself for that. The guilt was always with her, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. Sam had never expected to see Phil again and now she was faced with the prospect of working with him everyday, she had never envisaged being in this situation. Maybe if she had, things would've been different.

* * *

Sam knocked on Stuart's office door at about 5:30 that afternoon. 'You ready?' she asked.

Stuart looked up at her and smiled, 'yeah, come on, let's go,' he said as he took his coat off the back of his chair and stood up.

He walked towards Sam and she took his hand in hers before leaving the office to descend the staircase, 'so, how was the first day?' Stuart asked.

'Not too bad, I think I'm gonna like it here,'

'I'm glad; if you're happy then I'm happy. I'm sure you'll be OK,'

'Listen Stuart, Phil's invited me down the pub, to welcome me to the station, do you fancy coming too?'

'Yeah, I know, I heard him mentioning it to Jo and Mickey…Yeah, why not, I'm sure we can leave Marcus to keep an eye on Adele for us, can't we?'

'I suppose so; he is seventeen after all,'

'Exactly!' Stuart replied as he kissed the top of Sam's head before heading round to the driver's side of the car.

* * *

Stuart pulled the car up in the driveway of their house a little while later. Sam got out of the car and went to open the door. 'Anyone home?' she called as she entered the hall.

'Through here!' she heard her eldest, and only, son Marcus call from the kitchen.

Sam followed Marcus' voice and smiled as she entered. Marcus was the spitting image of his father, dark skinned and black hair; he had certainly inherited his father's looks. 'You OK mum?' he asked.

Sam nodded, 'fine thanks, you?' she replied.

Marcus nodded, 'how was college?'

'Fine,' Marcus said, 'my last lesson got cancelled so I came straight back here,'

'You could've made a start on the dinner,' Sam joked.

Marcus smiled, 'will do mum,' he replied as he stood up and kissed Sam on the forehead, 'you go and sit down, me and dad will sort everything,' he added as he looked around, 'where is dad?' he asked.

'I think he's gone for a shower, we're meeting some colleagues at the pub tonight, to celebrate my first day,' Sam replied. 'You don't mind looking after Adele tonight, do you?'

Marcus shook his head, 'course not,'

'Great!' Sam replied as she went through to the living room.

As Sam entered the living room, she saw her youngest daughter, Adele, curled up on the sofa, watching TV. 'Hey you,' she said as she sat down beside her.

'Hey mum,' Adele replied as she sat up.

'Good day at school?'

Adele nodded. Sam looked at her and smiled slightly to herself, Adele was almost like a mini-Sam, except that she didn't have her mum's eyes, or Stuart's, she had blue eyes, 'you OK mum?' Adele asked.

Sam snapped out of her trance and smiled at her daughter, 'I'm fine Adele, I'm just thinking,'

'About?' Adele pressed her.

'Oh, nothing special,' Sam brushed her daughter's question aside.

She knew that her past would come back to haunt her, she never expected it to happen this way though. She had to keep it secret, for everyone's sake, it wouldn't do anyone any good if this secret was to come to the surface, it would hurt too many people.

* * *

'Right, we'll see you when we get back,' Sam said to Adele and Marcus just before quarter to eight. 'If you need anything, just call either me or your dad, OK?'

'Mum,' Marcus replied as he stood up and put his hands on Sam's shoulders, 'we'll be fine, stop worrying about us.'

'I do though, you're my children, I'm allowed to worry about you,'

Marcus smiled at Sam as she leant across and kissed the top of Adele's head. 'I'll see you when we get back, we shouldn't be too long,' Sam said as she left the living room.

'Take as long as you like mum, dad,' Marcus said as he saw Stuart coming down the stairs to join Sam at the front door.

'I'll see you later son,' Stuart replied, affectionately ruffling his son's hair.

Marcus nodded as Stuart and Sam stepped out onto the doorstep and closed the door after them.

Marcus re-entered the living room and waved them off before turning to his little, 'so what do you wanna do Adele?' he asked, kneeling down beside her.

'Can we play Uno?' she replied.

'Awww, no sis. The last time we played uno, you hid all the wild cards up your sleeve to stop them from being counted,'

'Awwww, please,' Adele moaned. 'I won't cheat, I promise.'

'Oh go on then, I'll get the cards,' Marcus relented as he left the living room to go off in search of the cards.

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Reviews?? :) xxx


	3. Just Friends?

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed last time: Leah, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR) and Jodie. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

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**Chapter 3- Just Friends?**

Sam and Stuart opened the door to the Seven Bells just after eight that evening. They saw that Phil, Jo, Mickey, Stevie and Terry had got them a table a walked towards them. 'Hey guys,' Sam said as she approached, 'sorry we're a bit late.'

'At least you got here,' Mickey replied, 'what's everyone having?'

'No, its fine Mickey,' Sam said, 'first rounds on me.'

Everyone put in their orders and Sam went up to the bar to order the drinks. 'I'll give her a hand,' Phil said as he stood up.

Phil walked up to where Sam was stood at the bar, waiting to be served, 'I don't need your help Phil,' she said as he approached her.

'I want to help Sam,'

Sam sighed to herself, 'OK then, you can take the drinks, if I ever get served,'

Phil smiled at her as the door to the pub opened once more to reveal a woman, early thirties, blonde-brown hair. She looked around the pub, as though she was trying to find someone. She looked towards the bar and found the person she was looking for. 'Phil!' she called.

Phil wheeled around at the sound of his name being called. 'Cindy!' he exclaimed, 'what are you doing here?'

'I was looking for you,' she replied, 'and it's a good job I was too,' she added, looking towards Sam who was being served at the bar.

'Its not what you think Cindy,'

'Don't insult my intelligence! I know you well enough,'

'She's just a work colleague, see over there,' Phil said, pointing towards their CID colleagues who were gathered around a table a little way away, 'there's a group of us,' he added.

'Oh I'm sorry Phil, I had no idea,'

'Yeah, course. Checking up on me were you?' he asked.

Cindy didn't get time to reply, 'oi Phil!' Sam called.

Phil turned around, Sam gestured towards the drinks and then her eyes rested on Cindy, 'oh who's this Phil?' she asked, walking towards him, 'you not going to introduce us?'

'Of course,' Phil replied, 'Sam, this is Cindy, my girlfriend,' he added, not wanting to tell her that Cindy was actually his fiancée.

'Hi Cindy,' Sam said to Cindy, stretching her hand out towards her.

'I've heard a lot about you Sam, and not all of it good,' Cindy replied, not bothering to shake Sam's hand.

'What has Phil told you about me?'

'Why don't you ask him?' Cindy said as she turned around and walked back out of the pub.

'What was all that about?' Sam asked Phil once they were both sure that Cindy had gone.

'Its nothing Sam, honestly. Where are the drinks?' Phil replied, brushing Sam's question aside as he spotted the drinks tray and carried it over to the table that their CID colleagues were occupying. 'There we go,' Sam said as she sat down beside Stuart.

Everyone took their drinks off the tray and then Jo turned to face Sam, 'well…' she started, 'I don't really know what to say…'

'As little as possible,' Terry chipped in.

They all started laughing as Jo attempted to kick him under the table. 'Anyway, I don't really know to say so I think I'll just say this…welcome to Sun Hill Sam,'

'To Sam,' everyone said as their glasses clinked together.

Sam smiled at everyone as she drunk from her glass of wine. Her eyes lingered on Phil for a second or so longer than everyone else. She sighed quietly to herself, unable to believe that she was here, in his company once more. In a funny kind of way, it felt as though they'd never been apart, but they had, for sixteen years. Sam suddenly realised that she now had two incredibly difficult tasks on her hands; not only to prevent her deepest, darkest secret from being exposed but she knew she'd have to fight to the feelings she had had towards him. Seeing Phil again for the first time in years had made her realise that her feelings for him hadn't disappeared, they'd simply been suppressed by her belief that she'd done the right thing all those years ago. Now, she wasn't sure if she had. Sam hoped that maybe, just maybe, she'd get a chance to explain to Phil why she made the decisions that she had all those years ago, she wanted to explain, he deserved that much.

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A few hours later

'There you go Sam,' Phil said as he brought over their fourth round of drinks.

'Thanks Phil,' Sam replied as she picked up the glass and began to drink from it.

'About what I said earlier…' Phil trailed off.

'What about it?' Sam asked.

'I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean to sound threatening and if I did, I'm sorry,'

'Apology accepted,' Sam said.

'Good,' Phil replied. 'Do you reckon that we can just forget that conversation and be friends?'

Sam took another sip from her drink before she spoke, 'yeah,' she replied, 'I guess so.'

Phil smiled at her, 'friends,' he said.

'Friends,' Sam repeated as their glasses clinked together.

Phil sighed quietly to himself, if only it was that simple. He wished that things were as simple as that but sadly, they weren't. They had been apart for sixteen years but time hadn't changed the way he felt about her, he loved her and he'd waited all this time in the hope that one day, they would finally be together and all the waiting would turn out to be worth it. Right now, the waiting didn't seem like the sensible option but what else could he do? Phil knew he'd never be able to love anyone else in the same way that he loved and still loved Sam. Not even Cindy could make him forget, he knew he was settling for second best with Cindy. He loved Sam, but he couldn't have her.

'I think you'd better go and rescue your wife,' Stevie said to Stuart as she knocked back a Bacardi shot.

'She'll be fine, she knows how to handle blokes like him,' Stuart replied.

Stevie smiled at him as she ordered another Bacardi shot.

* * *

'I'd better be going,' Sam said, looking at her watch about an hour later.

'Awww Sam, it's still early,' Phil moaned.

'I don't wanna leave the kids too late,'

'OK then, I'll see you tomorrow Sam,'

'See you tomorrow Phil,' Sam said as she walked up to Stuart.

'You coming Stuart?' she asked him.

Stuart looked at her and nodded, 'see you tomorrow Stevie,' he said, turning to speak to Stevie.

'See you Stuart, Sam,' she replied as they both turned their backs and left the pub.

'He fancies you,' Stuart said as he and Sam started walking away from the pub, they hadn't bothered to bring the car.

'Who does?' Sam asked.

'I certainly don't mean Terry, Phil of course,' Stuart replied, the jealousy was evident in his voice.

'He does not,' Sam said, 'and even if he did, I'm not interested, I've only got eyes for you,' she added as she took Stuart's hand in hers.

'You mean it?'

'Of course I do,' Sam said as she leant in and kissed him.

She pulled away and smiled at him before turning the corner and walking back towards their house.

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Reviews?? :) xxx


	4. Reappearances

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Jodie, Sam, SassyJ, Beccy, Laura (****S-Nixon) and Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR). Thanks also to DetBarb for reviewing Chapter 1, 2 and 3. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

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**Chapter 4- Reappearances**

As the weeks went by, Sam continued to settle in well at Sun Hill and everyone agreed that she was a welcome addition to the team, Phil especially. Despite their agreement to be 'just friends', Phil was finding it incredibly difficult not to envisage things going further between him and Sam. They were close once and he couldn't help wishing that they could be together. He was engaged to Cindy but since Sam had arrived back in his life, he hadn't been able to think of anyone else.

The phone rang in Stuart's office one Tuesday morning. 'DCI Turner,' he answered.

'Hi Stuart, its Rachel. I'm sure you remember me,'

Stuart sat up, 'how can I forget you, Rachel Frost?' he asked.

'That's me, once seen, never forgotten,' she joked.

'What do you want anyway Rachel because I do have a job to do,'

'Oh OK, I've just moved back into the area and I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up, catch up, you know what I mean,'

Stuart scratched his head, thinking about this for a moment. He had no idea how Sam would react if she found out that his first love from high school had called him, he hoped that she'd be OK about it. After all, it wasn't Rachel he was married to. He and Sam had been together for eighteen years, he knew he couldn't keep this from her but at the same time; he didn't want this to upset her. 'Are you still there Stuart?' Rachel asked.

'Yeah, I am, sorry Rachel,' Stuart replied. 'Yeah, I'd like that; shall we say…Canley Arms at about 8:00?'

'I'll be there,' Rachel said. 'See you then.'

'Bye Rachel,' Stuart replied and hung up.

As he put the phone down, he wondered why he had just accepted that invite. Stuart and Rachel went out for two years when they were in high school and didn't part on very good terms. It seemed Rachel had put all that behind her but for Stuart; it wasn't as simple as that. Rachel had left him for his best mate and that had resulted in him and his best mate, James falling out. He knew he'd have to tell Sam, he just hoped she trusted him enough not to get jealous of Rachel, it was just a drink, what harm could it do?

* * *

'You've been uncharacteristically quiet,' Sam commented later that evening. 'You OK?'

Stuart smiled at her as she sat down on the sofa. Sam shuffled towards him so that her head was resting on his shoulder. 'I'm fine babe, I just…I had a call this morning that surprised me a bit, that's all,'

'What sort of call?'

'Do you trust me?' Stuart asked.

'Of course I do, why do you ask that?' Sam replied.

'I had a phone call from my first love from high school, Rachel. She's moved back into the area and wants to meet up for a drink,'

'Oh,' Sam said, 'what did you say to her?'

'I said I'd go,'

'Oh OK then,' Sam said, 'look, I trust you Stuart; it honestly doesn't bother me,'

'You sure?'

'I'm sure,'

Sam lifted her head off Stuart's shoulder as he leant across and brushed his lips against hers. They pulled away and smiled at each other, 'I'd better go and get ready,' he said as he stood up and left the living room.

Sam watched as he went upstairs and heard the bathroom door close. She and Stuart had been together for eighteen years but she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous about Rachel's reappearance. Sam loved Stuart but despite that, she still viewed Rachel as competition. Stuart had told Sam what had happened in the aftermath of the break-up and Sam wondered what her motives were for re-entering his life after so long. 'Mum?' Adele said as she poked her head around the living room door, dragging her mum out of her trance.

Sam looked up at her, 'what is it Adele?' she asked.

'Is dad OK?' Adele replied as she sat down beside Sam on the sofa.

'Why do you ask that darling?'

'He's singing in the shower,' Adele said, struggling to suppress a smirk.

'Is he now?' Sam asked, the expression on her face was somewhat different to that on her daughter's.

Adele noticed this, 'are you OK mum?' she asked.

'I'm fine darling,' Sam replied, 'come here,' she added as she held out her arms to Adele.

Adele smiled at her and allowed Sam to wrap her arms around her and plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. 'You know I love you, don't you Adele?' Sam asked.

Adele looked up at her, 'course I do mum,' she smiled.

'Good,' Sam replied. 'What do you fancy doing tonight? We've got the house to ourselves.'

'Why? Where's dad going?'

'He's going out for a drink with his first love from high school,'

'And you're OK about that?'

'Course I am, I trust him,' Sam said, 'so what do you wanna do tonight?' she added, changing the subject.

'Ummm, how about SingStar?' Adele replied.

'You beat me last time we played that together,'

'Since when did you become a bad loser mum? Come on, I'll go easy on you this time,'

'Go on then,' Sam relented.

'Great!' Adele said as she made her way towards the television to sort everything out.

* * *

Stuart came down the stairs a little while later, 'I'll see you later Sam! Adele!' he called.

Neither of them answered, which wasn't surprising given that they probably couldn't hear him over Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 'Murder on the Dancefloor'. 'Bye then,' Stuart said as he walked towards the door and opened it, closing it as he stepped out onto the doorstep.

Sam and Adele heard the door close, 'did you hear something?' Adele asked,

'Yeah, I think that was probably your dad heading off to meet his ex down the pub,' Sam replied, a slight bitterness in her voice.

'Are you sure you're OK about dad meeting this…what's her name?'

'Rachel,' Sam replied, 'oh I don't know Adele, of course I trust him but…I'm just worried it could lead to something else.'

'Mum, he loves you and I'm sure he'd trust you if that was you going out to meet an ex for a drink,'

Sam smiled at her, 'thanks Adele,' she said.

'No problem,' she replied. 'Now I think I've given you enough of a headstart,' she added as she took the PS2 remote from Sam and chose a song completely at random.

* * *

Stuart entered the Canley Arms just after eight. He looked around and spotted Rachel sat at a table in the corner of the pub. He began to walk in her direction and as he got closer, she looked up and smiled at him. 'Stuart Turner,' she said, 'just look at you, you haven't changed a bit, still as good looking as ever.'

Stuart smiled at her, 'what you drinking?' Rachel asked.

'No it's fine Rachel, I'll get the first round, what are you having?' Stuart replied.

Rachel looked down at the empty glass in front of her and picked it up, 'I'll have another Barcardi and coke please,' she said.

'Coming right up,' Stuart said as he walked off towards the bar.

* * *

An hour later, after a couple more drinks, Rachel had an idea. She put her glass down and turned to face Stuart, 'Listen Stuart, I know what I did back then was wrong and I just want to make amends,' she started.

'Really?' Stuart asked.

Rachel nodded, 'let me take you to dinner,' she replied.

'Why?'

'To catch up on old times,'

'I thought we'd just done that,'

'Yeah, we have but it would be nice to catch up a bit more, and we can do that over a nice dinner,'

'Yeah, why not,' Stuart replied, somewhat reluctantly.

It never occurred to him that Rachel may have had an ulterior motive for inviting him out for dinner. 'Great!' Rachel said as she finished her drink and stood up. 'I know just the place.'

'OK then,' Stuart replied. 'I'd better just ring Sam and let her know what's happening.'

'Sam?' Rachel questioned, 'who's Sam?'

'My wife,'

'Your wife,' Rachel said incredulously, 'in all this time we've been sat here, you never once mentioned that you had a wife.'

'You never asked,'

Stuart began to dial from his mobile as Rachel opened the pub door, 'I'll wait for you outside,' she said, 'that's if you're still coming.' She added as she left.

Stuart finished dialling and waited for Sam or Adele to answer, _'hello?' Adele answered._

'Hey sweetie, its dad. Is mum there?'

'_Yeah, she upstairs, I'll just get her for you, hold on a minute,'_

_Adele put the phone down on the sofa and went to the living room door. 'Mum!' she called._

'_What is it Adele?' Sam asked as she came to the top of the stairs._

'_Dad's on the phone and he wants to talk to you,'_

'_Does he now?' Sam muttered to herself as she wrapped the dressing gown tightly around herself as she descended the staircase. _

_Adele went back into the living room and picked up the phone, 'she's right here dad, I'll see you later,'_

'Bye sweetie, love you,' Stuart said.

_Adele handed the phone to Sam and went upstairs, 'what is it Stuart?' Sam asked._

'And hello to you too darling,' Stuart replied sarcastically, 'Rachel's just invited me out for dinner so I thought I'd better just ring and let you know what was happening.'

'_Oh,' Sam said. 'OK then, I'll see you when you get back.'_

'See you Sam, I love you,'

_Sam sighed to herself as she hung up without answering him._

Stuart hung up too, wondering why Sam hadn't said it back. 'Are you coming or not?' Rachel asked as she poked her head around the door.

'Yes, I'm coming,' Stuart said. 'I was just ringing my wife and my daughter answered the phone.'

'Daughter?' Rachel muttered.

She sighed to herself, wondering why on earth she had got back in contact with him in the first place. He was married with a family, there was no way he'd want her. _Still_, she thought, _there's no harm in trying_.

Rachel and Stuart stood outside the pub and she linked her arm through Stuart's as they began to walk away from the pub, in the direction of the restaurant.

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	5. Temptation

**Hey guys, sorry for the delay in updating. Here's the next chapter, thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Sam, Tee, Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Jodie and Barb. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

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Chapter 5- Temptation

Adele came back downstairs, she entered the living room and sat down beside Sam, 'what did dad want?' she asked.

'He wanted to let me know that he's now going out to dinner with this ex of his,' Sam replied, the bitterness more evident in her voice than it had been earlier.

'And what did you say?'

'I just said that I'll see him when he gets back,'

'You didn't tell him how much this is upsetting you?'

Sam shook her head, 'of course not,' she replied, 'he'd only think I was only was jealous.'

'But you are,'

'No I'm not,' Sam said.

She looked at Adele as a smirk began to spread across her face, 'maybe just a little bit?' Adele replied.

'Maybe…I do trust him Adele but what if this dinner date does lead to something else?'

'Mum,' Adele whispered as she wrapped her arms around Sam, 'dad loves you and I'm sure he'd never let it lead to something else. As I said earlier, he'd probably feel the same way if it was you going out with an ex, you just have to trust him.'

'What would I do without you eh?' Sam asked.

Adele shrugged her shoulders, 'I'm going to go and get a shower, you gonna be alright down here?'

'I'll be fine mum,' Adele replied.

Sam smiled at her as she planted a light kiss on her youngest daughter's forehead and left the living room.

* * *

Stuart and Rachel left the restaurant later on that evening. It was late, just gone 11:00, they were both a bit the worse for wear but Stuart hadn't drunk as much as Rachel had. 'Come on Rachel,' Stuart said, as he put her arm around his shoulders to support her, 'lets get you home.'

Rachel nodded, 'you're gonna have to tell me your address,' Stuart said.

Rachel told him the address and they both began to walk in the direction of Rachel's house.

'Keys Rachel,' Stuart said as they stood outside her house about half an hour later.

Rachel opened her handbag and found the keys lurking at the bottom and passed them over to Stuart. He walked towards the door and put the key in the lock. The door swung open and Stuart picked Rachel up and carried her into the house. He carried her up the stairs, 'which one of these is your bedroom?' he asked.

'This one,' Rachel replied, pointing to the first door on the right hand side.

Stuart opened the door and dropped Rachel onto the bed, 'I'll be back in a minute,' he said.

'Where are you going?' Rachel asked.

'I'm going to get you a bucket and a glass of water…that might sober you up a bit,' Stuart said as he left the bedroom.

Rachel smiled to herself as she stared at the ceiling. She had Stuart exactly where she wanted him.

'There you go,' Stuart said about ten minutes later as he re-entered Rachel's bedroom with a bucket and a glass of water in hand.

He walked towards her bedside table and put the glass down on and dropped the bucket beside her bed. All of a sudden, Stuart felt Rachel's hand take his and he was pulled onto the bed, on top of Rachel. 'What the hell are you doing Rachel?' he asked.

'What does it look it?' Rachel replied as she leant upwards to kiss him.

Stuart moved away, 'I'd better be going,' he said. 'Let me know if you need anything else,' he added, leaving a card with his details on beside the glass of water.

'I might take you up on that,' Rachel whispered seductively.

Stuart walked towards the bedroom door and opened it. He shut the door behind him and descended the stairs. Rachel heard the front door slam shut after, indicating his departure.

Stuart walked down the path and sighed to himself. He couldn't believe that Rachel had just tried to kiss him, he tried to convince himself that she was drunk and that she wouldn't have probably done that had she been in the right frame of mind. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that perhaps, she had meant to do it and that he'd simply fallen into a trap. 'Damn it,' he muttered to himself.

He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to give her his number as well. Now she had his number, she could probably find a way of telling Sam about what had just happened. Stuart loved Sam and he knew there was no way he could risk her finding out about what had happened tonight, he had no idea how she'd react. Of course, Stuart didn't know that she wasn't entirely happy about him going out with Rachel in the first place. He wished he'd just declined her offer of dinner and gone back home to see his wife and daughter, if he had done so, this would not have happened.

* * *

Stuart stopped outside his and Sam's house about twenty minutes later. He looked up and saw that there weren't any lights on, meaning that Sam and Adele were already in bed. He walked up the garden path and put his key into the lock as quietly as he could, the front door creaked open and Stuart stepped inside, closing the door silently after him. Stuart left his shoes at the bottom of the stairs and crept slowly upstairs, so as not to wake anybody up. He poked his head around the door of Adele's bedroom and smiled as he saw her sleeping peacefully with her back to the door, 'sleep well sweetheart,' he whispered.

Stuart left the door open ajar and tiptoed across the landing towards his and Sam's bedroom. He quietly opened the door and saw that Sam too was fast asleep. He walked towards the bed and retrieved his pyjamas from his side of the bed. He changed into his pyjamas and slipped into beside Sam, trying not to wake her up. He didn't succeed, she stirred and sat up to switch the beside lamp on, 'where have you been?' she asked.

'You know where I've been,' Stuart replied.

'That doesn't exactly explain why you're back so late,'

'Oh, I didn't realise I had been put on a curfew,' Stuart said sarcastically, his voice rose slightly.

'Keep your voice down, you'll wake Adele!' Sam hissed.

'She's spark out, I've already put my head around the door to see her,'

'Oh,' Sam said. 'So how come you didn't let me know you were going to be so late home?'

'Because I didn't think I had to, Rachel got a bit drunk so I had to see to her before I came back,'

'I don't want to hear anymore, we'll discuss this in the morning,' Sam said, bringing an abrupt end to the conversation.

She reached across and switched the bedside lamp off, plunging the room into darkness and leaving Stuart to think about the actions he'd taken tonight that may have jeopardised his marriage.

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	6. Manipulation

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous one: ****miss nyx, SassyJ, Jodie, Tee, DetBarb, Robyn, Sam, Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR****) and Laura (S-Nixon). Thanks also to DetBarb and Laura (S-Nixon) for reviewing Chapter 4. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxx**

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Chapter 6- Manipulation

Adele woke up at about six the next morning. She sat up rubbed her eyes, she looked towards the clock on her bedside table and when she saw the time, she sighed to herself; there was no point in going back to sleep now, she'd have to be up in an hour anyway to get ready for school. Adele got out of bed and pulled her dressing gown off the back of her door and quietly opened her door, trying not to wake Sam and Stuart up. She crept downstairs and poked her head around the living room door to see if anyone was awake. To her surprise, she saw Sam sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee in her hands. 'Mum?' Adele whispered.

Sam jumped slightly and looked up, 'what are you doing up so early?' she asked.

'I didn't think there was much point in going back to sleep, I'd only sleep in,'

Sam smiled at her as she shifted up so that Adele could sit next to her, 'what time did dad come back then?' Adele asked.

'I don't think it was long after you went to bed, about 11:30, maybe a bit later,' Sam replied.

'How come he was so late getting back?'

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'your guess is as good as mine,' she said.

'You didn't ask him?'

Sam shook her head, 'I didn't want to wake you up and that's what would've happened if we'd started arguing about where he'd been,'

Adele smiled at her mum, 'did you sleep well then?' Sam asked.

Adele nodded, 'not too bad,' she replied.

Sam took a sip from her cup of coffee and smiled at her youngest daughter, 'I'm just going to get myself a cuppa,' Adele said as she got up and went through to the kitchen.

She came back a few minutes later clutching a cup of tea and sat back down beside her mum.

* * *

Stuart woke up at about seven that morning. He sat up and as he did so, he noticed that the other side of the bed was empty, Sam had already got up. Stuart sighed to himself and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn. He hadn't got much sleep last night, he had too busy thinking about what had happened the night before, he couldn't believe he hadn't seen this coming. Of course Stuart had had his suspicions about the reasons why Rachel had chosen to get back in touch with him; he could never have imagined that the choices he had made could possibly have such far-reaching consequences.

Stuart got dressed and went downstairs a little while later. He heard giggling coming from the kitchen and headed towards the door. The giggling stopped as soon as he entered, 'oh look who it is,' Sam muttered.

'Any coffee going?' Stuart asked.

'Try the pot, that's where it usually is,' Sam replied coldly as she made herself her second coffee of the day.

Stuart walked over to the worktop and made himself a coffee. As he finished, a couple of slices of toast popped out of the toaster, 'oooh, is that for me?' Stuart asked.

'Nope,' Sam replied as she took the slices of toast out of the toaster and put them on a plate, 'that's Adele's breakfast.'

'But she's 15; she's capable of making her own breakfast,'

'So if she's capable of making her own breakfast, I guess that makes you more than capable so _do it_,' Sam said, putting as much emphasis on the last two words as she could as she put the plate down in front of Adele.

'Fine!' Stuart replied as he moodily shoved two bits of bread into the toaster.

Sam picked up the plate of toast that she'd made for herself earlier and left the kitchen to go upstairs. 'What's eating her?' Stuart asked.

'Take a wild guess,' Adele replied as she took a bite out of the toast.

'Ah,' Stuart said, it was making sense now.

'You need to talk to her dad,'

'I know I do Adele, I was going to tell her what had happened last night but she wouldn't listen to me,'

'I think she thought it would result in an argument,'

'I don't want to argue with her, I just wanna be honest with her,'

'Talk to her dad,' Adele said as she finished her toast.

She looked up at her dad as she left the kitchen to get dressed. Stuart sighed to himself, Adele was right; they needed to talk.

* * *

Sam was sat in her office later that morning, staring blankly at a document on her computer screen. She was supposed to be typing up a report but her heart wasn't really in it, she had other things on her mind. Sam needed to know what had happened last night, she didn't want to make things worse between her and Stuart but she felt that they would if she didn't speak to him about last night. Having Rachel around was also going to be a threat to their marriage, even after sixteen years of marriage, Sam still saw Rachel as a rival for Stuart's affections. She knew she was being stupid thinking like this but she couldn't help it, they had history. She sighed to herself as the door to her office opened, 'you look how I feel,' Phil said as he leant casually against the doorframe.

Sam smiled up at him before turning her head back to the report. 'Hey,' Phil said as he entered the office and closed the door behind them, 'what's up?'

Sam looked back up at him, 'do you want a coffee?'

'Oooh, I'd love one!'

'Good, I'll tell you everything over a coffee in the canteen,'

Phil smiled at Sam as she stood up and opened the office door before leaving the main CID office, with Phil following her.

* * *

'What is the matter then Sam?' Phil asked once they were sat in the canteen with a cup of coffee each.

'It's Stuart,' Sam replied.

'What about him?'

'He got invited out for a drink yesterday by his first love from high school; he called me to say they were going for dinner as well. Stuart didn't come back until gone 11:30 last night,'

'Ah, I see,'

'I don't know what to think Phil, what if something did happen last night? I don't know whether I'm overreacting,'

'Sam,' Phil sighed, 'you're not going to know the truth until you speak to him. So...do that, it'll put your mind at rest.'

Sam looked up at him and smiled, resting her hand on top of his as she did so, 'thanks Phil,' she said, 'what would I do without you eh?'

Phil rested his other hand on top of Sam's 'I'm always here if you need to talk, you know that,' he said.

'I know,' she smiled at him.

* * *

Stuart was sat in his office, poring over the stack of paperwork that stood precariously on the edge of his desk. He sighed to himself as he put his pen down, he hadn't been able to concentrate on this all morning; he had to many other things on his mind. The phone rang, dragging Stuart out of his stupor, 'thank God for that,' he whispered.

He picked it up, 'hello?' he said.

'Stuart? It's me, Rachel,' Rachel replied.

'Rachel...What do you want?'

'I'm outside the station now; I need to see you,'

Stuart stood up and looked towards the window, he could quite clearly see her standing on the pavement opposite the station, 'stay there, I'll be down in a minute,' he said as he hung up.

Stuart grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and left the office to descend the staircase.

He opened the doors to the station and walked briskly towards Rachel, 'what exactly do you want Rachel?' he asked, 'I am very busy.'

'I need to ask you a favour,'

'What sort of favour?'

'I've got some sort of plumbing problem and I need somewhere to stay while the problem is sorted,'

'Why are you telling me this?'

'I was wondering if I could stay at your place…until the problem is fixed,'

'I don't know Rachel; I don't think Sam would like it very much,'

'What would she say if she knew what _really_ happened last night? I'm sure you haven't told her the full story. If you don't let me stay, I'll tell her what happened,'

Stuart looked at her, he was torn. He knew Sam wouldn't be too keen on letting his ex-girlfriend stay in their house but on the other hand, he couldn't risk Sam finding out exactly what had happened the night before, he had no idea how she'd react, he had to keep that a secret at all costs. 'What's the answer then Stuart, will you let me stay or shall I go and have a little chat with your wife,' Rachel finally said.

Stuart's gaze met hers, 'go on then,' he relented, 'you can stay but only until your plumbing problem is sorted.'

'Thanks Stuart,' Rachel replied as she kissed him on the cheek.

Stuart smiled slightly, 'where's your stuff then?'

Rachel gestured towards her car, it was a silver Mercedes. 'I tell you what,' Stuart said, 'lets get your stuff sorted now, I need a break from the paperwork.'

Rachel smiled at him as she got into the drivers seat. Stuart looked up at the windows to CID, he couldn't see Sam so he got into the passengers seat and Rachel drove off.

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Oooh, what's Sam going to say to that?? Please review :) xxx


	7. Me Or Her

**Hey guys, next update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, Barb, Jodie, Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR) and Kelly. Please keep doing so, luv ya al Gemz xxxxx**

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Chapter 7- Me Or Her

Stuart walked into CID later that afternoon, the office was virtually empty, apart from Stevie and Mickey who sat in the corner of the office watching some CCTV footage of an armed robbery. He poked his head around the door of the DI's office and saw Sam sat at her desk, still typing away at her computer. 'Sam,' Stuart said.

Sam looked up from the screen, 'what is it Stuart?' she asked.

'I need a word,'

'What about?'

Stuart closed the door and Sam stepped out from the other side of her desk and perched on the edge. 'You know my ex-girlfriend Rachel?' he asked, Sam nodded, 'well, she came to see me earlier on today and she told me she's got a plumbing problem at her house.'

'What's that got to do with us?' Sam asked.

'She asked if she could stay with us until the problem is sorted,'

'She did what?!' Sam exclaimed.

'You heard me,' Stuart replied.

'What did you say?'

'I said yes,'

'You did what?!'

'I said she could stay look Sam, its only for a few days, until its sorted,'

'Yeah course it is,' Sam scoffed.

'Sam, you know you're the only one for me, I'm not interested in her anymore,'

'Yeah right,'

'You're jealous of her, aren't you?'

'No I'm not,' Sam lied.

'You've got no reason to be,'

'Really?' Sam shouted at him, 'there is no way I'm going to put up with her living under my roof.'

'What am I supposed to do? Kick her out? She's got nowhere else to go,'

'Yes she has! She could've stayed in a hotel, she didn't have to come and stay with us. I'm sorry Stuart but…it's either me or her,'

Stuart looked at her, 'you what?' he asked.

'You heard,' Sam replied calmly, 'either she goes or I go, its up to you Stuart.'

'I can't chuck her out now Sam, she's already moved in,'

'I don't believe this!' Sam exclaimed, 'you moved her in without consulting me?'

Stuart nodded, 'I'm sorry Sam,' he said.

'Yeah, course you are,' Sam replied. 'Just get out.'

Stuart opened the door and left the office, just as he was told to. As soon as the door had closed, Sam felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She had no idea how things could've gone so wrong so quickly for her and Stuart, Sam couldn't believe Stuart had chosen Rachel over her, she had been right about her all along, she was trouble. Stuart going to dinner with her was bad enough but this was worse, he had invited his first love to stay in their house, she couldn't believe he'd done that without consulting her. Sam couldn't live in the same house as her husband's ex-girlfriend so she had no other option but to find somewhere else to stay until she had moved out again. Sam was jealous of Rachel, even after all this time; Rachel still seemed capable of wrapping Stuart around her little finger. Sam sighed to herself, she had to find somewhere else to stay…but where?

* * *

Sam left at about 5:00 that afternoon. She didn't bother looking to see if Stuart was still in his office, she just wanted to go home and get her stuff before he had a chance to try and change her mind. She had spent most of the time since her conversation with Stuart thinking about where she was going to go, then she thought of just the person. He would let her stay, she knew it. Sam got into the car outside the station and drove off in the direction of her and Stuart's house.

* * *

Sam pulled the car up outside the house a little while later. She walked up to the door and opened it, Sam dropped her bag in the hall and began to walk towards the stairs. 'Mum?' Adele called from the living room, 'is that you?' she added as she came to the living room door.

She saw Sam go up the stairs and decided to follow and find out what was wrong.

Adele opened the door to Sam and Stuart's room and saw Sam hastily packing some clothes into a holdall. 'Mum?' she said, 'what are you doing?'

Sam looked up at her, 'I'm sorry darling but this is what I have to do, your dad's left me with no choice,' she replied.

Adele walked towards the bed and sat down, 'what's he done now mum?'

'He's invited his ex-girlfriend to stay because she's got some sort of plumbing problem at her house,'

'He's done what!' Adele exclaimed.

'Yeah, I know. I can't live with her so I'm moving out until your father's seen sense,'

'Where are you going to go?'

Sam reached across her bed and pulled a stack of post-it notes towards her. On the top one she scribbled down the address, 'this is where I'm going to stay,' she said.

Adele reached out to take the piece of paper but Sam pulled it back further, 'but before I give this to you, you've got to make me a promise,' Sam continued.

'Of course mum, anything,'

'You don't give this to your dad,'

'Why not?'

'Because I don't want him to know where I am. He's got to see sense and I hope this will give him the push that he needs, '

'OK then, I won't give it to him,'

Sam passed Adele the post-it note and rested her hand on her youngest daughter's cheek, 'thank you darling,' she whispered before enveloping her in a hug.

'I'm gonna miss you mum,' Adele said.

'I'm gonna miss you too darling but you've got the address, you can come and see me whenever you like,'

Adele smiled at her as she watched Sam pack the remainder of her clothes into the holdall, 'anyone would think you're going for a month,' Adele joked.

'Who know how long she's gonna be here for,' Sam replied bitterly.

'She won't be here for that long, a few days at the most,' Adele said confidently.

'I hope so darling, you know, I don't want to do this but if this is what it takes for your father to come to his senses…' Sam trailed off as she picked up the holdall.

'I know mum,'

Sam walked towards the bedroom door and opened it before descending the staircase, with Adele following in her wake.

Sam got to the bottom of the stairs just as Marcus came through the door, he saw the holdall in his mum's hand and looked at her, 'you going somewhere mum?' he asked.

'Yeah, I am. At least until she's gone' Sam replied.

'Who are you talking about?'

'Oh, it's a long story Marcus, Adele will explain, I've got to go before your dad gets back,' Sam said as she lent across and kissed her son's forehead, 'I'll see you soon,' she added before stepping out onto the front step and closing the door after her.

Marcus dropped his bag on the floor and turned to his younger sister, 'what is going on here Adele?'

Adele gestured for Marcus to follow her into the living room, 'mum and dad have had a big bust-up,' she started.

'About?'

'Well…dad got a call from his ex-girlfriend yesterday and she invited him out for a drink, they went for dinner after that and he didn't get back until late last night. Now, dad's invited his ex to stay here because she's got some kind of plumbing problem,'

'What did mum say to all that?'

'The fact that she's moving out to get away from her should answer that, she won't come back until she's gone,'

'How long do you reckon that's going to be?'

Adele shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't know,' she said. 'I don't know what to do Marcus.'

'There's nothing you can do Adele, its mum and dad's problem, they've got to sort it out between themselves,'

Adele smiled at him, 'I guess you're right,' she said.

Marcus smiled back at his little sister and enveloped her in a hug.

* * *

Sam pulled up outside a house on Brisbane Close. She looked up at the house as she got out of her car; she took her holdall off the back seat before locking the car up and walking up the path towards the door. Sam took a deep breath and pushed down on the doorbell. Through the glass, she saw a male figure come to the door and she heard the lock click. The door opened and Sam smiled as she saw Phil stood in the doorway…

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	8. Fighting Fire With Fire

**Hey guys, next update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the last time: Jodie, Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, buddies, DetBarb and Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR). Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 8- Fighting Fire With Fire

'What are you doing here Sam?' he asked.

'Can I come in?' Sam replied.

'Course you can,' Phil said, stepping aside to let Sam in.

She brushed past him and Phil noticed the holdall in her hand. He wondered what had happened between Sam and Stuart to result in her turning up on his doorstep with a holdall in her hand. Had they had an argument? There was only one way to find out.

Phil followed Sam into the living room and leant against the door as she sat down, 'do you want a drink?' he asked.

'I'll just have whatever you're having,' Sam replied, smiling up at him.

'Coming right up,' Phil smiled warmly at her.

He strode towards the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room and opened it. Scanning the contents for something appropriate, he caught sight of a bottle of whiskey. Phil took it down off the shelf and poured equal measures into two glasses. He took the glasses and passed one to before sitting down beside Sam on the sofa. 'So come on then Sam, what's happened between you and Stuart?' Phil asked.

Sam looked up at him, 'what makes you think there's something wrong?' she replied, feigning innocence.

'Because you would've have turned up on my doorstep carrying a holdall if something hadn't happened,'

Sam smiled at him as she took a sip from the glass of whiskey Phil had handed her, 'OK Phil, I grant you that,' she said. 'You know I told you about Stuart going for drinks and dinner with his ex last night.'

'Yeah,' Phil replied. 'Is it to do with her?'

'You could say that,'

'What's she done now?'

'It's not so much what she's done, it's more what Stuart has done,'

'What's he done this time?'

'Rachel came to see him earlier today and told him that she's got a plumbing problem at her place and she needed somewhere to stay so Stuart's letting her stay at ours until this plumbing problem of hers is sorted,'

'You've got to be kidding!' Phil exclaimed.

'I wish I was,' Sam replied bitterly.

'So why are you here?'

'Me and Stuart had a big bust-up about it, in which I basically told him that he had to choose between me and her,'

'Who did he choose?'

Sam looked at him, 'who do you think?' she asked, 'he chose her, God knows why.'

'Oh, I'm sorry Sam,'

'What have you got to be sorry for? If anyone's got to be sorry, it's Stuart,'

'I guess so, I guess I'm sorry for you because I don't want to see you get hurt,'

'It's too late for that; he's already hurt me by inviting that woman to stay in our house without asking me first. That's why I've moved out,'

'Moved out?' Phil questioned.

Sam nodded, gesturing towards the holdall that was at her feet, 'I can't live in the same house as her so I've moved out until she's gone,'

'Have you got anywhere to stay?'

Sam shook her head, 'not yet, that's why I came to you,'

'Why me?'

'I was wondering if I could stay with you, until she's gone,'

Phil put his glass of whisky down on the coffee table and rested one hand on Sam's cheek, 'of course you can stay here Sam. I've got the spare bedroom and if I'm honest, I could do with the company,' he said.

'What about Cindy? Won't she mind me being here?'

'She's not here; she went on holiday with a group of girlfriends on Monday,'

Sam took a sip from her glass and smiled warmly at Phil, 'thanks Phil,' she said, 'I really appreciate it.'

Phil took Sam's hand in his and gently squeezed it, 'I'm always here for you Sam, you know that,'

Sam finished the whisky and placed the now empty glass on the coffee table beside Phil's, 'I know Phil,' she said.

Phil wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to him. Sam sighed quietly to herself as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. She smiled slightly to herself as she remembered the last time they'd been this close, nearly sixteen years ago. Sam didn't know what she'd done to deserve what Stuart had done to her today, she was gutted that he'd effectively chosen Rachel over her and she hadn't wanted to move out but she felt that she had no choice in the matter. Sam couldn't live in the same house as her husband's ex-girlfriend and therefore, the choice had already been for her. She hadn't wanted things to go this way, for Adele and Marcus' sake if nothing else, but they had. Sam so desperately wanted to get things back on track with Stuart but the longer Rachel stayed around for, the less likely that might turn out to be.

Phil pulled away and he and Sam exchanged a smile, 'I'd better go and sort out the spare bedroom for you,' he said.

Sam leant downwards to pick her holdall up but was stopped by Phil, 'I'll take that for you,' he said, smiling at her once more.

'Thanks Phil,' Sam replied, returning the smile.

Phil picked up Sam's holdall and stood up, he walked towards the living room door and left. Sam followed him up the stairs and towards the spare bedroom.

* * *

Phil opened the door to the spare bedroom. Sam stepped inside and looked towards Phil, 'I'll go and find some sheets,' he said as he left the doorway and headed across the landing.

He came back a few minutes later with the bedsheets in his arms. 'There you go,' Phil said as he put the sheets on the spare bed.

Sam smiled at him, 'so…' Phil trailed off, 'what made you choose to come to me, instead of going to Jo or someone else?'

Sam looked up at him, 'well…' she started, 'with Rachel moving into our place, I thought I might try fighting fire with fire.'

'How do you mean?'

'He's jealous of you so I thought that me coming here might spur him into reconsidering his position,'

'He's really jealous of me?'

Sam nodded, 'you remember that night when we all went out to the pub and Cindy came in looking for you,' Phil nodded, 'he sort of implied that when we walked back.'

Phil smiled to himself. If Stuart was jealous of him then surely he viewed him as a rival for Sam's affections. Rightfully so in Phil's opinion. He was trying to suppress his delight that Sam had chosen to come to him, over everybody else. Maybe that did signify something, perhaps she did feel something more for him, something more than friendship. He didn't know, he just knew that he'd be there for Sam now, be the friend that she was in need of but never giving hope that she might feel something more towards him. 'I'll leave you to sort the bed out,' he said.

Sam nodded, 'thanks Phil,' she smiled.

Phil smiled back at her as he walked out onto the landing and closed the door after him, leaving it slightly ajar.

* * *

Stuart opened the door to his house; he was carrying a bag in his hand, a bag which contained a Chinese takeaway. 'Anyone home?' he called.

'In here dad!' Adele called from the living room.

Stuart entered the living room and saw daughter stretched out on the sofa, her face obscured by the latest issue of Heat magazine, 'where's your mum?' he asked.

Adele put the magazine down and eyed the bag in Stuart's hand, 'is that supposed to be a peace offering?' she asked, a slight note of distaste in her voice.

'No, it's supposed to be a Chinese takeaway, where is she anyway?'

'She's gone,' Adele replied casually as she disappeared back behind the magazine.

'What do you mean she's gone?'

Adele sighed to herself and put the magazine back down on the sofa, 'she's moved out, at least until that cow has packed her bags and gone,' she said, her voice getting louder with every word.

'Keep your voice down!' Stuart said, 'she's upstairs.'

'I know she's upstairs dad and that is the problem, you made this mess for yourself, you've got to sort it out,'

'How am I supposed to sort it out if I don't know where she's gone?'

'You're a detective,' Adele said scornfully, 'you should be able to work out where she's gone.'

'You want some?' Stuart asked, holding up the bag.

Adele looked up at him and her face softened, 'OK dad,' she said.

She followed Stuart through to the kitchen where he laid out the contents of the bag on the table, 'what are you going to do about _her_?' Adele asked after a few minutes silence.

'You mean Rachel?' Adele nodded, Stuart sighed, 'she's got nowhere else to go, I can't just kick her out,' he said.

'What do you mean you can't kick her out? You love mum, don't you?'

'Of course I do, your mum means as much to me as you and Marcus,'

'Really?' Then prove it,' Adele said as she stood up.

'What about the takeaway?'

'I'm not hungry,' Adele said as she left the kitchen.

Adele walked towards the stairs and saw Rachel sat there. She immediately knew that Rachel had heard the entire conversation. Adele climbed the stairs and walked past her without saying a word. Rachel watched as Adele disappeared from sight and soon, she heard the bedroom door slam behind her. Rachel smiled to herself, now Sam was out of the way, there was nothing stopping her and now, she had a clear path to Stuart, regardless of what Adele or even Marcus thought of it.

* * *

'Thanks again for this Phil,' Sam said later that evening.

'I've told you before Sam, it's fine, you don't need to keep thanking me,'

Sam smiled at him, 'night night Phil,' she whispered.

Phil leant across and gently planted a kiss on her forehead, 'sleep well Sam,' he said as he stood up and began to walk towards the bedroom door.

'See you tomorrow Phil,'

'See you tomorrow Sam,' Phil said as he opened the door and walked out onto the landing, closing the door behind him, leaving Sam to get some sleep.

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	9. Good Samaritan

**Hey guys, quick update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, buddies, Tee, Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), DetBarb and Jodie. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxx**

**Chapter 9- Good Samaritan**

Sam pulled up outside Sun Hill at about 8:15 the next morning. She'd left Phil having his breakfast as she didn't want to give her colleagues anything more to talk about. She looked around and sighed to herself as she saw Stuart's car parked up a few yards away from hers. This would be the first time she had seen him since their bust-up the afternoon before and she was a bit nervous about what he'd say to her. He still had no idea where she was staying and of course, she had no idea how he'd take it. She sighed to herself once more; she knew she'd have to tell him, before he heard it from anyone else.

Sam picked up her belongings off the back seat of her car before locking it up. She looked up at the windows of CID and began to walk towards the entrance of the station.

She walked up to the CID offices and opened the door to the DI's office. She looked around and smiled at Neil as she entered, 'morning Neil,' she said.

'Morning Sam,' Neil replied as she sat down. 'The DCI's looking for you.'

Sam looked up at him and scowled, 'is he now,' she said as turned her attention to the small stack of paperwork on her desk.

'He seemed keen to see you,'

'Yeah well, he would be,'

'Why?'

Sam looked up from her paperwork and smiled at Neil, 'it's complicated but the long and short of it is we had a big bust-up yesterday afternoon and I moved out last night,'

'What was the argument about?'

'He went out with an ex girlfriend for drinks and dinner the other night and then yesterday, she tells him that she's got a plumbing problem at her house and needs somewhere to stay so she's now staying at our place,'

'And let me guess, you've moved out because you're not keen on sharing your house with your house with your husband's ex-girlfriend,'

'Got it in one,' Sam smiled, 'how did you guess?'

'I'm very intuitive Sam, you work with me long enough, you'll soon see that,'

Sam smiled at him as a knock at the door disturbed them from their conversation, 'come in!' Neil called.

The door opened and Stuart stood in the doorway, 'can you give us a minute Neil?' Stuart asked.

'Yeah sure,' Neil replied as he stood up.

He left the office and shut the door behind him. It wasn't until they were sure that Neil had closed the door that either of them spoke, 'what do you want?' Sam asked coldly.

'I was worried about you last night,'

'Yeah, course you were,' Sam said sarcastically.

'I was, where did you get to last night?'

'Did you not listen to a word I said yesterday? I said there was no way I was sharing the house with her so until she's gone, I'm not coming back,'

'Yeah, Adele told me that much. What I meant was where did you stay last night?'

'Do you really care?'

'Of course I care Sam,'

'If you cared about me at all, you would've asked me before you moved your ex-girlfriend into our house,'

'Don't bring Rachel into this,'

'I can bring her into this if I want to; after all, it's her fault we're in this situation,'

Stuart sighed, 'Just tell me where you stayed last night. I am a detective, I'll find out somehow' he said.

Sam looked up at him and a small smirk spread across her face, 'Phil,' she replied.

'Phil Hunter?' he asked incredulously.

Sam nodded, 'why him Sam?' Stuart asked.

'He's my friend, he cares about me,'

'I care about you,'

Sam looked up at him, 'then prove it,' she challenged him.

'How?'

'Tell Rachel to go and then I'll come home,'

Stuart looked at her, 'I wish I could do that Sam, but I can't,'

'Why not?'

'I just can't OK Sam?'

'Until she's gone, I don't want to know,'

'What are you saying Sam?'

'If you can't tell her to go, you'll not only lose me, you'll lose Adele and Marcus too,'

Stuart looked at her, unable to comprehend what she had just told him, 'now…' Sam trailed off, 'I've got nothing more to say to you so can you please get out, I do have work to be getting on with,'

Stuart opened the door and left the office. He closed the door and Sam sighed to herself, she knew was being a bit unfair to Stuart but at this moment in time, she couldn't care less. If threatening to walk out on him with Adele and Marcus was what she had to do to persuade him to chuck Rachel out, then it would be worth it. She desperately wanted to save her marriage, she loved Stuart and she wanted to get things back on track. They had been together for eighteen years and it wasn't worth throwing that away because of one stupid argument.

* * *

Stuart walked back into CID later that afternoon. The office was almost empty apart from a few people; Phil was sat at his desk, typing up a report and Jo was perched on the edge of Mickey's desk and they were reading over a statement they'd taken from a woman who was caught up in an armed robbery earlier that day. Stuart strode over to Phil's desk, 'DS Hunter,' he said.

Phil looked up, 'a word please, in my office,' Stuart continued and began to walk away.

Phil sighed to himself as he put down his papers and stood up. 'What have you done this time?' Jo called over to him.

Phil scratched his head, 'nothing as far as I know,' he replied.

'That's what they all say,' Mickey said.

Phil shook his head and walked out of the CID office.

He closed the door to Stuart's office as he entered. 'What did you want to see me about guv?' he asked.

Stuart turned around and faced him, 'did you or did you not invite Sam to stay over at yours?' he asked.

'No, I didn't. Its not what it looks like,'

'OK then, so you put me straight,'

'Sam came to my door last night, told me what happened between you two and asked if she could stay with me, I let her,'

'It might surprise you to learn this DS Hunter but you don't get paid for being a Good Samaritan,'

'I wasn't being a Good Samaritan, Sam's my friend,'

'Yeah, and that's all she ever will be. Sam is mine, and will always be mine,'

'What about Rachel?'

'She means nothing to me; I'm just being a friend to her,'

'In the same way that I'm being a friend to Sam. If you care about Sam as much as you say you do, you'll prove it to her, she loves you, even I know that,' Phil said.

He sighed to himself, it hurt him to say that but deep down, he knew it was true. Sam did love Stuart but at the same time, it didn't stop Phil from hoping that there might still be a small part of her that still loved him, like she had nearly sixteen years ago. In a funny sort of way, he wanted Sam's marriage to stay the way it was, she was living with him now and he quite enjoyed having her around. However, he knew how gutted Sam was that things were going the way they were and wanted her to be happy, even if that did mean her marriage to Stuart getting back on track.

'You're not the first person to have told me that in the past couple of days,' Stuart finally replied.

'I didn't think I was,' Phil said, 'can I go now?' he added

Stuart nodded and Phil made his way back towards the office door and opened it. He closed the door behind him and walked back towards the CID offices. He smiled slightly to himself, that conversation had just confirmed what Sam had told him last night, Stuart was jealous of Phil. Of course, he had reason to be, just like Sam had reason to be jealous of Rachel.

Phil sat himself back down in front of his computer and went back to typing up his report; his thoughts occasionally wandering back the woman who had walked back into his life a little over three weeks ago and unwittingly captured his heart once again.

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	10. His Kiss

**Hey guys, another quick update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed last time: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Laura (S-Nixon), Jodie, Tee, DetBarb, Sam and Kelly, you're the best! :) **

**I've got lots of motivation for this fic (as certain people already know ;)) so please keep the reviews coming, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxx**

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Chapter 10- His Kiss

Sam switched off the computer in her office at about 5:30 that evening. She sighed to herself, the same thoughts still going through her mind. She still couldn't believe that Stuart was still letting Rachel stay in their house, under the same roof as their kids. She had had to take a stand about this, Sam didn't want to live in the same house as her husband's ex-girlfriend and she hoped that Stuart would soon come to his senses and chuck Rachel out. Not that she didn't enjoy living with Phil, living with him was great but she loved Stuart and desperately wanted to get their marriage back on track.

Phil knocked on her office door a few minutes later, 'do you fancy stopping off to get a takeaway on your way back to mine?' he asked.

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't know,' she said, 'do you fancy stopping off at an off-licence and getting a bottle of wine?'

'I suppose so,'

'Then I suppose I could stop off at a takeaway place. What do you want, Chinese? Indian? Thai?' Sam asked.

'You choose,' Phil replied.

Sam smiled at him as she stood up and pulled her coat off the hanger that stood beside her desk. 'You ready?' Phil asked.

Sam nodded as Phil stood aside to let her past. Sam left the main CID office with following closely behind her.

* * *

Stuart was stood by the window of his office, absent-mindedly gazing out of it and drinking from a plastic cup of coffee. He was busy thinking about everything that Sam, Adele and even Phil had said to him over the past twenty four hours. Stuart couldn't believe that Sam had gone and moved in with Phil, the very man whom he had quite clearly been jealous of since Sam's first day at Sun Hill. Mind you, he had invited Rachel to stay at his and Sam's house, which had prompted this whole cycle of events. He loved Sam and he knew he now had to do something drastic to try and save his marriage; maybe chucking Rachel out would do just that. However, she had threatened to tell Sam about what had really happened that night when they went out for dinner, he knew what he had to do, he had to come clean to Sam and hope that she'd forgive him. Nothing had happened though, Rachel came onto him but on the other hand, he knew that going out with her in the first place had upset his wife and he so badly wanted to put that right.

Stuart snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Sam and Phil walking out of the station, towards their separate cars. He watched as Phil wrapped his arm casually around Sam's waist and Stuart's hand clenched into a fist. _What on earth was he playing at?_ Stuart thought. He knew he had to try and keep his jealousy under wraps because he knew that that was Sam's main motivation for going to Phil in the first place.

* * *

Sam pulled up outside Phil's house a little while later. She noticed his car in the driveway and realised that he was already back. She picked up the bag that contained their Indian takeaway off the passenger seat and locked the car up before heading towards the door. 'Dinner's here!' she called as she entered.

'Through here Sam!' Phil called back from the living room.

Sam entered the living room and smiled at Phil as he poured some of the bottle of wine into two glasses, before passing one across to Sam. 'Thanks Phil,' she smiled.

'My pleasure,' Phil replied, 'what did you get then?' he asked as he sat down on the sofa.

'Indian,'

'Great,'

Phil smiled at Sam as she took the food out of the bag and began to spread the contents over the coffee table.

* * *

Stuart was sat in the living room of his house, he kept dialling Sam's mobile number but it just kept going straight to voicemail. Eventually, Stuart came to the conclusion that she was ignoring him and was upset about the way he'd behaved in the past couple of days. He stood up and walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of red wine. 'You can pour me one while you're at it,' a voice said from the kitchen door.

Stuart turned around and saw who the voice belonged to, it was Rachel. 'You're capable of doing it doing it yourself,' he replied.

Rachel smirked slightly at him. 'Not interrupting anything, am I?' another voice asked.

Stuart looked up to see who had spoken, this time it was Adele, 'no course not darling,' he replied, 'what do you want?'

'I just wanted to get myself a drink,' Adele said as she walked past Rachel and towards the fridge.

'I'll leave you to it,' Rachel said and left the doorway.

Once Adele was sure Rachel was out of earshot she turned to her dad, 'she still here is she?'

'Yes, she is. But only because she's got nowhere else to go,'

'You still haven't spoken to mum, have you?'

Stuart shook her head, 'she won't answer any of my calls,'

'I didn't mean call her, you're gonna have to talk to her face-to-face if you're ever going to get this sorted,'

'I know, and I promise I'll sort it out soon Adele,' he said as he lightly kissed his daughter's forehead.

* * *

'That was delicious,' Sam said as she finished off the Indian.

'It was,' Phil agreed, 'and,' he added as he held the bottle of wine, 'we've still got half a bottle left.'

'I'll take that with me when I go for a bath,' Sam said.

Phil smiled at her as she took a sip from her glass. From the outside, Sam seemed to be coping pretty well with her marriage troubles but on the inside, she was crumbling. She was trying to put a brave face on it but deep down, she knew her façade could crumble at any minute. 'Shall we put a film on or something?' Phil finally asked.

'Yeah go on then,' Sam replied.

'You choose,'

'OK then,'

Sam stood up and walked towards the rack where all of Phil's DVDs were stored. She eventually picked one out and put it into the DVD player. 'What have you chosen?' Phil asked.

'Wait and see,' Sam smirked as she pressed play.

She sat down beside Phil and as the title sequence started, he realised what film she'd put in, 'oh no, not Titanic,' he moaned.

Sam looked up at him and smirked, 'you told me to choose,' she laughed.

'I guess I did,'

Sam smiled at him as he shuffled closer to her and wrapped his arms around her body.

* * *

Three hours later, the film finished and as Phil pressed stop on the DVD player, he looked down and noticed that Sam had fallen asleep. He nudged her and she began to stir, 'film's finished,' he whispered.

Sam looked up and smiled slightly, 'sorry,' she said, 'I must've dozed off.'

'You don't need to apologise,'

Sam sat and rubbed her eyes, 'I'm just going up to have a bath,' she said as she stood up.

'OK then, I'll see you in a bit,' Phil replied.

He watched Sam as she left the living room to go upstairs. He heard the bathroom close upstairs and looked towards the coffee table. He noticed the bottle of wine still sitting there, Phil remembered her saying that she'd finish that off while she was in the bath. _She'll be back down for that_, Phil thought.

* * *

Stuart switched off the TV in the living room and left to go upstairs to bed. He stopped on the landing, all was quiet, Adele, Marcus and Rachel had long gone to bed. Stuart walked towards his bedroom door and opened it, closing it as he entered.

Across the landing, Rachel stirred. She was sure she had heard a door just close. She guessed that Stuart had just come to bed; Adele and Marcus had gone to bed before her. She sat up and smiled to herself, she could now put into her action her plan to make Stuart hers, there was nothing to stop her now.

Rachel waited about fifteen minutes before she got out of bed. She opened her bedroom door and closed it quietly behind her, she crept across the landing and quietly opened Stuart's bedroom door, Rachel was completely unaware that somebody had heard her get up.

Adele opened her bedroom door just as Rachel had closed the door to Stuart's bedroom door. She crept across the landing and stopped outside her dad's bedroom door.

Rachel stood in the bedroom, smirking to herself as she saw the sleeping figure of Stuart lying in the bed. She crept round to the other side of the bed and pulled the cover aside and climbed in beside him. Rachel shuffled towards him and wrapped an arm around him, smiling to herself as she began to drift off to sleep.

Adele quietly opened the bedroom door and saw Rachel in the bed beside Stuart. She reached up to the light switch and turned it on, 'what the hell?' Stuart said as the glare of the light woke him up.

His rubbed his eyes and focussed, 'what did you do that for?' Stuart asked Adele.

'Dad, look,' she replied, pointing towards the other side of the bed.

Stuart looked at where she was pointing and saw Rachel sleeping beside him. She looked up and smiled and he immediately jumped out of the bed, 'what the hell are you playing at Rachel?' he asked.

'What does it look like?' she smirked.

'Right that's it,' Stuart said as he left the bedroom and entered the bedroom that Rachel had been staying in since she'd moved in.

Adele and Rachel followed her into the bedroom, 'what are you doing?' Rachel asked.

Stuart went over to the wardrobe and started packing things into a suitcase, 'what does it look like? I don't care if you've got plumbing problems; I'm not putting up with it anymore,'

Adele and Rachel watched as he packed all of Rachel's things bar a small selection into the case. He threw the small selection of clothes at Rachel, 'now put your clothes on and get out,' he spat at her as he left the bedroom.

Adele followed him, 'what are you going to do now dad?' she asked.

'What do you think?' Stuart replied.

* * *

'Forgot the wine!' Sam announced as she re-entered the living room.

Phil looked up at her and smiled slightly. She was wearing a purple silk dressing gown which came down to just above her knees. He stood up and passed the bottle of wine to her, 'thanks Phil,' Sam said.

Phil smiled at her and leant across to kiss her on the cheek. He pulled away and their gazes locked for a few seconds. He leant back towards her and their lips met in a kiss, for the first time in nearly sixteen years. She responded to his kiss and he deepened it, wrapping his arms around her waist and their tongues clashed together. She wrapped one arm around his neck, in her other hand was the bottle of wine. Phil's hands sought out her dressing gown cord and was about to undo the knot when a knock at the door disturbed them.

They pulled away and Phil smiled once more at Sam, 'I'd better get that,' he whispered.

Sam nodded as she watched Phil leave the room. She smiled slightly to herself as she straightened up her dressing gown.

Phil entered the hallway and walked towards the door. He opened it and stared at the person stood on his doorstep…

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**Ooooh, who's at the door?? There's only one way to find out, REVIEW!! :) xxxx**


	11. Mum's Back

**Hey guys, next update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed last time: Laura (S-Nixon), Sam, Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Tee, DetBarb and Jodie. Please keep it up, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 11- Mum's Back

'What do you want Stuart?' Phil asked.

'I've come to see Sam, not that that's any of your business,' Stuart replied snidely.

'I think it is my business when you mess Sam around, she's my friend,'

'What is going on?' Sam asked as she came to the living room door. 'Oh, hi Stuart,' she added as she saw him.

'Sam, I need to talk to you,' Stuart replied, completely ignoring Phil and speaking directly to Sam.

'What about?'

'Us. I've got something to tell you,'

'You'd better come in then,'

Stuart entered the house and went through to the living room. Phil looked at Sam, 'are you sure your doing the right thing?' he asked.

'Can you give us a few minutes, please Phil?'

Phil nodded as he walked back down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Sam re-entered the living room and closed the door behind her and Stuart. 'What is it you've got to tell me Stuart?' she asked.

'That can wait,' Stuart replied, 'I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting Rachel come and stay in our house; I didn't have a choice in the matter,'

'You did, you could've said no,'

Stuart shook his head, 'Rachel didn't give me a choice,' he said, 'you remember when I went out for drinks and dinner with her,' Sam nodded, 'she got a bit drunk so I had to take her home, when I did…she came onto me, when she came to tell me about the plumbing problem, she said that if I didn't let her stay, she'd tell you what happened, I couldn't take that risk, I'm so sorry Sam.'

'If what you're saying is true and she did come onto you…you wouldn't have had anything to worry about so why didn't you tell me?'

'I guess I was a bit scared, she might have twisted it, said that I came onto her when I didn't,'

'Why are you here anyway, I'm sure it wasn't just to tell me that,'

'I've chucked her out,'

Sam looked up at him, 'have you?' she asked.

Stuart nodded, 'why now?'

'I guess I came to my senses,' Stuart replied as he took Sam's hands in his, 'I love you Sam and I want us to get things back on track.'

Sam gazed into her husband's eyes. She yanked her hands out of Stuart's grip and reached upwards before slapping him across the face, 'what was that for?' he asked, holding his left cheek, which Sam had slapped.

'That was for inviting Rachel to stay,' Sam replied, 'but this is for kicking her out.'

She leant towards him and brushed her lips softly against his. He deepened the kiss and wrapped his around his wife, bringing him closer to her. They pulled away and exchanged smiles, 'you coming back then?' Stuart asked after a few moments silence.

Sam looked up at Stuart, 'not tonight Stuart,' she replied.

'Why not?'

'Because it's late, too late for me to start moving my stuff from here back to ours,'

'OK then,' Stuart said as he kissed the top of Sam's head, 'you'll come back tomorrow thought, won't you?'

'Course,' Sam replied.

'Can you do me a favour?'

'Course I can,'

'Can you come back tomorrow morning, before work? Adele and Marcus will wanna see you before they go,'

Sam smiled at Sam, 'OK then,' she agreed.

'Great!' Stuart replied as he opened the living room door.

'I'll see you tomorrow,' Sam said.

'See you tomorrow,' Stuart replied.

Stuart leant across and kissed Sam softly on the lips before he left the house, closing the front door behind him.

Sam leant against the door and smiled to herself. She was so glad that Stuart had finally seen sense over Rachel. Finally, their marriage seemed to be back on track. Of course, she was not aware of the incident that had taken place that made Stuart see sense. Then there was the other event that had occurred that evening, her kiss with Phil, their first kiss in nearly sixteen years. She didn't know how she felt about that, she was confused, confused as to her feelings towards Phil and the kiss that they'd shared before Stuart interrupted them. In a strange way, Sam wished that Stuart hadn't interrupted them, maybe then she would've had some idea as to how she felt about Phil and whether things would've gone further between them. Stuart had turned up and told Sam exactly what she wanted to hear, she was delighted with this and was glad that he had finally gone back on his original choice and chosen her over Rachel. Phil came to the kitchen door, 'what did Stuart want?' he asked, dragging Sam out of her trance.

Sam looked up at him, 'he's kicked Rachel out,' she replied.

'So I guess that means you're moving back then?'

Sam nodded, 'not till tomorrow though,'

'OK then,' Phil said, trying to disguise the sadness in his voice.

It had been great these past two days, having Sam living with him, he had really enjoyed having her around. He was gutted that she was going back to Stuart, their kiss earlier that evening made him realise that he couldn't carry on living a lie with Cindy for much longer, he loved Sam, not Cindy. It was unfair on her, giving her false hope that they could have some kind of future together. There was only one woman he'd ever wanted to have that with but she was already spoken for. Phil knew what he had to do, he had to let Cindy go, for her sake if nothing else, he would end up destroying her if he didn't end it now. He did love Cindy but she was nothing compared to Sam and deep down, Phil knew this.

'Thanks for letting me stay Phil, I really appreciate it,' Sam said as she walked towards him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

'As I said Sam, it's no problem, I was glad to help,'

Sam smiled at him as she went back though to the living room. She re-emerged a few moments later carrying the bottle of wine and a glass. Phil smiled at her as she went upstairs and he went into the living room to get himself a glass of whisky. He sighed to himself as he swallowed, she hadn't mentioned the kiss, did it mean that it didn't mean anything to her? He didn't know, all he did know was that kiss had meant more to him than anything else that had happened to him in the past sixteen years. He desperately hoped that the kiss had meant something to Sam too but now that she and Stuart were getting things back on track, he wasn't too sure whether it did.

* * *

Sam woke up at about six the next morning. She sat up and smiled to herself as she saw the sunlight blazing through the window. Sam was glad to be going back home but she hadn't got much sleep the night before; her head had been filled with to many thoughts. Thoughts about Phil and the kiss they'd shared before Stuart turned up. She was still confused as to how she felt, she loved Stuart but there was something about Phil, something that made her feel different about herself, different but perhaps better. She wished that she could put that kiss to the back of her mind but that was nigh-on impossible, she still had to work with him and everytime she saw him, she would now be faced with a constant reminder of it, as well as the constant reminder he posed of the decisions she had made nearly sixteen years ago, the decisions that even now, seemed to be having an impact on both their lives.

Sam pulled the sheets back on the bed and got out. She took a small pile of clothes with her as she left the bedroom to go to the bathroom.

* * *

Sam came back about twenty minutes later, fully dressed. She made the bed and began to pack her clothes back into the holdall that she'd brought with her.

Once she'd finished packing the holdall, she went downstairs and set about making herself some breakfast. As she went to turn the kettle on, she heard movement coming from upstairs, Phil must be awake. She got an extra mug down from the shelf and sure enough, Phil appeared in the kitchen doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of faded grey tracksuit bottoms. 'You making coffee?' he asked.

Sam nodded, 'I was going to make you one too, do you want one?' she replied.

'Please,'

Sam smiled as she poured hot water into the mugs, occasionally looking up to sneak a peek at Phil's chest, he was still as gorgeous as she remembered him to be nearly sixteen years ago. 'There you go,' she finally said as she passed Phil his mug of coffee.

'Thanks Sam,' Phil replied as he took a sip from the mug.

* * *

Half an hour later, Sam dragged the holdall down the stairs. 'I'm going now Phil!' she called.

Phil left the kitchen and walked into the hallway. 'I'll see you at work then Sam,' he said.

Sam nodded, 'I know I've said this before Phil but…thanks again for this,' she replied.

'Hey,' Phil said as he wrapped his arms around her, 'it's no problem.'

Sam pulled away and smiled at him, 'I'll see you at work,' she said as she opened the door.

Phil nodded as she stepped out onto the doorstep, closing the door after her.

* * *

Sam opened the door to her and Stuart's house about ten minutes later. 'Hello?' she called.

She put the holdall down at the bottom of the stairs and looked up as Adele stood at the top of the stairs, 'mum!' she squealed as she ran down the stairs.

Adele wrapped her arms around her mum and Sam wrapped her arms around her youngest daughter, 'I missed you mum,' Adele whispered.

Sam looked up at her daughter and lightly kissed her forehead, 'I missed you too darling,'

She heard a cough coming from the top of the stairs and looked up, 'hey Marcus,' she said.

'Hi mum,' Marcus replied as he walked down the stairs towards Sam.

She wrapped her arms around her son; she pulled away and smiled at him. She looked down at Adele and smiled at her. 'They're glad to see you back,' Stuart said as he stood at the top of the stairs watching the scene before him.

Sam smiled at Stuart as Adele wrapped her arms around her mum's waist. Sam leant downwards and kissed her daughter's head. The family was back together again…for now.

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	12. Nowhere To Hide

**Hey guys, next update for you. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed this fic constantly (you know who you are), this chapters for you guys!! Please keep reviewing, luv ya all Gemz xxx**

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Chapter 12- Nowhere To Hide

Phil came into work early one Monday morning a few weeks after Sam had taken Stuart back, nursing a rather nasty graze to the bridge of his nose. He had finished things with Cindy the night before; she didn't take it too well and had started throwing things at him. He had finally plucked up the courage to break it off with her; it had taken him nearly three weeks to do so. Now it was over, Phil felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He could go out and enjoy the single life once more, but he didn't want to. Phil hadn't been able to get that kiss with Sam out of his mind and still believed, despite what Sam had said on her first day, that there was still a chance that they could reconcile what they had had sixteen years previously. 'What happened to you?' Sam asked as she strolled into the office.

'Cindy,' he replied.

'What's she done now?'

'Chucking the crockery, I broke it off with her last night,'

'Why?'

'It just wasn't working anymore,'

'I see,' Sam said, 'no other reason?'

'Course not,' Phil lied. 'You busy tonight?' he asked, trying to change the subject.

'Don't think so…why?'

'I was just wondering if you wanted to come out for a drink with me…just the two of us,'

Sam's gaze met his and she smiled, 'yeah,' she said, 'I'd like that.'

'Canley Arms at 7:30 then?' Phil replied.

Sam nodded, 'I'll be there,' she said as she pushed down on the door handle and entered her office.

Neil was on holiday so she had the office to herself. Despite her best attempts to put the kiss with Phil to the back of her mind, it hadn't worked. The kiss was still fresh in her mind and it had left her wondering whether her feelings for Phil had ever gone away, they had been apart for sixteen years but the chemistry still remained between the two of them. Sam couldn't help wondering exactly why Phil had broken things off with Cindy, she wasn't sure whether there was another reason behind it and maybe, she would get the chance to find out tonight. Sam also had to work out what she was going to say to Stuart, he wouldn't be too pleased to find out that his wife was going out for a drink with Phil having only recently patched their marriage up.

* * *

Stuart knocked on Sam's office door at about 5:45 that evening, 'you coming Sam?' he asked as he opened the door.

'I wish I could Stuart,' Sam replied, 'I've got all this to sort out, I'll be back as soon as I can.

Stuart nodded, 'I'll see you later then,' he said.

'See you,'

Stuart left the office door open and left the main CID office. Phil waited until Stuart had disappeared from sight before he knocked on Sam's door, 'you still up for tonight?' he asked.

Sam looked up at him and nodded, 'I will be once I get all this done,' she replied as she gestured towards the large pile of paperwork that was stood precariously on the edge of her desk.

'I tell you what, I've just finished for the day so how about I stay and give you a hand?'

'Oh I don't want to muck up your plans for this evening,'

'I didn't have any, besides our drink,' he grinned. 'And anyway, it'll give Cindy a chance to move her stuff out, I don't particularly wanna go back there while she's around, I'll probably get more crockery chucked at me for daring to finish with her.'

Sam smiled at him, 'go on then,' she replied.

Phil smiled at her as pulled out the chair in front of her desk and took a small sheaf of papers from the pile.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Sam and Phil had finished the paperwork. 'There you go,' Phil said triumphantly, 'it didn't take long with two of us, did it?'

Sam shook her head, 'you never know, I might have been stuck here until the early hours of the morning if I'd turned down your offer to help,' she replied, a small smile creeping across her face.

'You probably would've been,' Phil agreed as he looked at his watch, 'you ready for that drink then, I think we both deserve it.'

'Yep, I'm ready to go,'

'Good,' Phil said as he opened the office door, holding it open to let Sam through.

Sam left the main CID office with Phil following a few paces behind.

* * *

Sam and Phil entered the Canley Arms a little after 7:30. 'What can I get you Sam?' he asked.

'I'll have a white wine please Phil,' Sam replied. 'I'll go and get us a table.'

Phil nodded as he walked up to the bar to get the drinks and as he did so, he watched Sam walk over to a small table in the corner of the pub. He carried the drinks over on a tray a few minutes later, 'there you go Sam,' he said as he put the glass of white wine down in front of her.

'Thanks Phil,' she smiled warmly at him as she shifted up slightly to give him room to sit down beside her.

Phil smiled back at her as her took a sip from his beer, 'so, how did Cindy take the news?' Sam asked.

'I think the answer to that is obvious,' Phil replied, pointing to the scar on the bridge of his nose, 'she was gutted, begged me not to do it.'

'So why did you?'

'Because things between us haven't been right for sometime and I just thought it would be better for both of us, if I finished it. She'd have probably ended up resenting me anyway,'

Sam smiled at him as she took a sip from her glass of wine.

_

* * *

_

Three hours later

'I think we'd better be going,' Sam said.

'Don't you wanna stay for another?' Phil asked, 'if you don't wanna stay for another, we could always go back to mine for a nightcap.'

'Go on then, if you insist,'

Phil smiled at her as they both got up and headed for the pub door.

* * *

Phil and Sam stumbled through his front door a little while later. They entered the living room and sat down on the sofa, 'what do you wanna drink?' Phil asked as he stood up and walked towards the drinks cabinet.

'I'll just have whatever you're having,' Sam replied.

She watched as he opened a bottle of brandy and poured some of the liquid into two glasses. Sam was beginning to wonder what she was doing here, Stuart was surely going to wonder where she was, she had told him that she wouldn't be long but of course, that was a lie. They had only just patched things up after Rachel and she knew that she could be jeopardising all that by going out with Phil in the first place but that seemed to completely wash over her, at this precise moment, she didn't really care about any of that. Sam liked being in Phil's company, it made her feel different about herself, that was what had attracted her to him in the first place. He was completely different to Stuart which, in some ways she was quite glad about. Being in each other's company now made it seem like the past sixteen years hadn't happened, but it had and they had both changed, they were older and perhaps wiser than they had been back then and the feelings that they had once had for each other were still there, but hidden. Hidden because Sam thought it was better that way, hidden because Phil couldn't bear for history to repeat itself. Sam smiled at him as he walked back towards her, 'there you go,' he said, passing her one of the glasses of brandy that he'd poured.

Sam smiled at him once more before taking a sip, 'you know what I think?' she finally asked, breaking the silence that had descended between the two of them.

'Go on,' Phil replied.

'I think that you're jealous of Stuart,'

'Me? Jealous of him?' Phil scoffed, 'why would I be jealous of him?'

'Because he's got me, I think you dumped Cindy because you haven't been able to get our kiss out of your mind and you still think that you've got a chance with me,'

'Have I then?'

'Have you what?'

'Have I still got a chance with you?'

'No!' Sam exclaimed firmly, 'I patched things up with Stuart. You're jealous of him because I gave him a second chance after everything that happened with Rachel,'

Deep down though, she knew that wasn't true. They were the same people they were sixteen years ago and while the chemistry was still there between them, she would always be tempted by the possibility of rekindling their long-dead affair. There was nothing she could do to make the chemistry go away and if she was honest, she didn't really want it to. She had patched things up with Stuart but she had only done it for the sake of Adele and Marcus. Sam had always put her children's happiness before anything else and she knew how devastated they'd be if she and Stuart did separate. Sam still loved Stuart but after everything that had happened with Rachel, she knew she would find it very difficult to trust him like she had before Rachel came back into his life, things were never going to get back to how they were before. Her marriage crisis had brought her closer to Phil, closer in such a way that they hadn't been for nearly sixteen years. Sam knew that there were still strong feelings bubbling under the surface between the two of them and it was only a matter of time before they surfaced and the inevitable happened.

'Don't be ridiculous, I'm not jealous of him,'

'Yeah right, I think you are. You're a vindictive, twisted control freak and I don't know what I ever saw in you in the first place,' Sam said before downing the rest of her brandy, 'I'm off,' she added as she stood up and began to walk towards the living room door.

Phil put his glass down on the coffee table and stood up, he grabbed at Sam's wrist. Phil pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Sam's head was spinning, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened. Of course, she hadn't meant to say all those things to Phil; they had just slipped out in the heat of the moment. She had no idea what to do next, Sam knew she couldn't run away from this forever so really, there was only one option open to her…

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Apologies for the ending, hehe, I'm evil aren't I? So, what's she going to do? There's only one way to find out. Reviews?? xxxx


	13. An Aching Void No Longer

**Hey guys, next update for you. I apologise for leaving it where I did last time so I hope this will make it better.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), miss nyx, Jodie, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), DetBarb, Tee and Kelly.**

**Some sexual content, you have been warned! Hope you like the chapter and don't forget to review! Luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 13- An Aching Void No Longer

In response, Sam's tongue slipped into Phil's mouth as she deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around Phil's neck. As he realised that she was kissing him back, he let go of her wrist and wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing her up against the living room door. Sam ran her hands through Phil's hair in her desperate urge to be closer to him. He lifted her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. Sam pulled away and ran a finger down the side of Phil's face, temporarily untangling it from his hair, 'let's take this upstairs,' she whispered breathlessly.

Phil looked at her, unsure of how to respond, he couldn't believe he had just heard Samantha Nixon utter those words…to him. Of course, he knew exactly what he wanted, and more to the point, who. The woman he had loved and wanted for the past sixteen years had just uttered the words he had longed to hear her say, 'are you sure you want this because if you don't…' Phil trailed off.

Sam silenced him with another long and lingering kiss. She pulled away, 'I'm sure,' she whispered, reassuring him that he was doing the right thing before kissing him again.

Phil kissed her back and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

Phil kicked the bedroom door shut with his foot and dropped Sam to her feet. She pulled him towards the bed and they both fell backwards onto the bedclothes of Phil's double bed, he hovered over Sam as she put one hand on the back of his neck and pulled Phil closer to her, they continued their passionate kissing from where they had left off. Both Sam and Phil's movements were slow and exploratory, as though this was something completely new to them. It wasn't though, far from it. They hadn't been together in this way for nearly sixteen years and neither of them wanted to rush what they had waited so long for. Phil had been yearning for this for the past sixteen years, yearning for something to fill the aching void that Sam had left in his soul. He had been searching for someone to fill that void ever since she'd left but he'd never found anyone that made him feel the way that Sam did. Many women had tried but ultimately, none of them made him happy enough not to go searching for something else. He had eventually come to the conclusion that the aching void wasn't the feelings that he experienced when he was with Sam, the aching void _was _Sam. She was one of a kind; he had missed her so much and no-one else could fill the aching void that Sam had left in his soul sixteen years previous. All that was long forgotten now she was here with him again.

Sam's fingers found Phil's hair and as his lips found her neck, his hands wandered down to the bottom of her shirt, pulling desperately at it in his attempt to rid her of the garments he knew that she wanted rid of. Sam pulled away slightly so that Phil could pull the shirt over her head and threw it over the other side of the room. She kissed him passionately once more, as her hands sought out the buttons of his shirt. Once his shirt had been discarded, Sam's fingers traced the outline of the muscles on his arms. Phil shivered; no woman had ever been able to make him feel the way Sam had. He marvelled at the way that she could captivate him all over again. Phil ran his hands up Sam's thighs and she shivered, her breath catching in her throat. She was amazed that Phil still had this impact on her, nearly sixteen years on. The chemistry they had once shared had never gone away, not truly and that was why she was attracted to him in such a way that made her a different person when she was with Phil.

Phil's hand moved underneath Sam to unhook her bra, which was hastily chucked away and joined the ever-growing piles of clothes dotted around the room. Sam pulled Phil's head back up to hers and their lips connected once more as her hands moved down to undo the belt on Phil's trousers and she unzipped his trousers without a hint of hesitation.

Sam's eyes pierced Phil's, her green eyes locked with his blue ones and her gaze was so filled with lust that they both knew what was coming next, they had known from the moment they'd kissed how this was going to end up, it was inevitable. The existent passion in them sizzled in the few centimetres that still remained between, the few centimetres that Phil was desperate to deprive her of. Neither of them needed words to verbalise what they were thinking, they both knew they were thinking the same thing. In one movement, Phil lowered himself inside her, making her gasp. The noise that escaped her lips was one of not just pure pleasure but also one of relief.

Phil's hands tangled in her hair as he kissed her passionately once more, Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed her nails to dig into his back. It was heavenly to Sam, to feel this after such a long time; she hadn't experienced anything near as good as this since.

* * *

About forty five minutes later , Phil collapsed in a satisfied heap beside Sam; he reached beneath him and pulled the covers of his bed open so that he and Sam could climb inside. She smiled at him as she slid underneath the covers. She shuffled back towards him as he rested his head on the pillow. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her even closer to him. She rested her head against his chest and sighed happily to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sam woke up with a jolt an hour and a half later. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, focussing on the unfamiliar surroundings. She pulled the bedclothes up around her naked form to cover herself and looked towards the naked male figure asleep beside her. All of a sudden, Sam remembered what had happened between her and Phil only a few hours ago and guilt overwhelmed her. She had betrayed Stuart and slept with someone else, not just anyone, it was Phil. Sam put her hand to her forehead and felt her head beginning to pound. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to Stuart, more importantly, she knew she couldn't face Phil in the morning and talk about what had happened, she had to go, now.

Sam gently pulled back the covers and got out of the bed. She crept around the room and retrieved her clothes. Once she'd done that, she took one final glance at the sleeping figure of Phil before she quietly opened the door and crept along the landing to go into the bathroom.

* * *

Sam re-emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, now fully dressed. She sighed to herself as she walked back down the stairs. She stumbled as she tripped over her shoes that were lying at the bottom of the stairs. She put them on and then wandered back into the living room, in search of her handbag. She found it on the sofa and looked around to see if she'd left anything behind. Sam walked towards the front door and opened it, closing it quietly behind her.

* * *

Sam pulled the car up outside her and Stuart's house about ten minutes later. She looked up and couldn't see any lights on, meaning that Stuart, Adele and Marcus were already in bed. She was glad that they were all in bed so then she didn't have to explain why she was so late back, Stuart was bound to ask her in the morning so it gave her a bit more time to come up with a convincing excuse, to cover up her night of passion with Phil.

She quietly opened the door and closed it behind her, with a small click. She entered the living room and stood in front of the mantelpiece, looking at all the photos that lined the sill. She picked up one of her, Stuart and the kids and smiled wryly to herself. Sam had once again put all that into jeopardy, one moment of weakness was all it taken. One moment of weakness had set her back nearly sixteen years, but this time, things were different. Sam and Stuart had patched things up but they'd never gone back to how they were before Rachel had turned up, she knew they never would. She had wanted it, just as much as Phil had but she didn't anticipate the guilt that she'd feel afterwards. She now had to face Phil at work everyday, faced with a constant reminder of what had happened that night.

Sam put the photo back on the ledge and left the living room to go up upstairs.

She entered the bedroom and smiled slightly at the sleeping figure of her husband in their double bed. She walked around to her side of the bed and got her pyjamas out. She got into them and pulled back the covers to get into bed. Stuart turned around and smiled at her, 'where have you been Sam?' he asked.

Sam looked up at him, 'I'm sorry,' she replied, 'I fell asleep at the office, after doing all that paperwork,'

'You shouldn't have done it all in one go,'

'It saves time; I'd have only had it hanging over me in the morning,'

'I guess so, I missed you,'

Sam smiled at him, she wished she could say the same back but somehow, she couldn't. She hadn't really missed him, when she was with Phil; she had hardly given Stuart a second thought until afterwards, when the guilt had almost overcome her. 'Night night Stuart,' she said as she turned around and began to drift off to sleep.

'Night Sam,' Stuart replied as leant across to brush his lips against her cheek.

He leant back on the pillow and went off to sleep, leaving Sam to wonder what on earth she was going to say to Phil when she saw him the next day.

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Reviews? xxx


	14. Distractions

**Heya guys, next update for you. Sorry for the slight delay, this was meant to be up on Tuesday but my computer was playing up. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Laura (S-Nixon), SassyJ, Sam, Tee and DetBarb. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 14- Distractions

Phil woke up at about six the next morning; he stretched out his arm to where he assumed Sam would still be sleeping. He sat up as he realised that she wasn't there. The bed was cold and empty where she'd had been sleeping. Phil looked around and saw that all her clothes had disappeared, he sighed to himself as he realised that she'd gone. She obviously regretted what had happened between them and had gone back to Stuart. Phil didn't think Stuart deserved Sam, after the way he'd treated her over Rachel, she deserved better, better being him. Phil really thought this had meant something to Sam but obviously he had been wrong, he wasn't sure how to react to that. He had waited sixteen years for what had happened the night before and he had longed to wake up with her but that hadn't happened, and he was gutted. The aching void that he thought had gone the night before was back again and he so desperately wanted it to go away.

Phil got out of bed and headed towards his bedroom door. He wanted to head into work early, he had to try and talk to Sam, find out why she'd left, he needed to know where he stood after what had happened.

* * *

Sam woke up at about 6:30. She sat up and yawned, Stuart's side of the bed was already empty. Sam hadn't got much sleep at all; she had been too busy thinking about what had happened between her and Phil. She was in two minds, she so badly wanted to keep the family together but on the other hand, the chemistry that she had with Phil was overwhelming and she knew that she couldn't avoid that forever, it wouldn't have done either of them any good. She wasn't really looking forward to that day much at all, Sam knew she would have to face Phil and explain why she left. She didn't know what to do, she had always put her children's happiness before anything else but maybe, that hadn't done her any favours whatsoever. If she hadn't put her children first, she probably wouldn't be with Stuart, she would've been with Phil and none of this would have had to happen, she would've been happy but as it was, she wasn't. Things between her and Stuart hadn't got much better since she'd agreed to come back; Sam had only agreed to come back for Adele and Marcus' sake, her kids meant everything to her and she didn't want to see them get hurt. Despite this, she still felt incredibly guilty about betraying her husband of sixteen years with Phil, he had never done anything like that to her and that was how she repaid him.

She went downstairs a little while later and entered the kitchen, 'awww, you spoilt the surprise,' Stuart said.

'What surprise?'

'I was just about to bring this up to you,' Stuart said, gesturing towards the tray that was on the kitchen worktop.

'Thanks Stuart, but I'm down here now, I may as well have it here,'

'OK then,' Stuart said, feeling slightly put out.

Sam smiled at him as she sat down, the guilt that lie in the pit of her stomach was beginning to grow, he had gone to all this trouble for her, it showed he still cared. She wished that she could be more enthusiastic about this but that was impossible for her, she had other things on her mind and she wasn't in the mood to receive romantic gestures. Sam still had no idea of what she was going to say to Phil when she saw him that day at work, she had no idea of how he was going to react to her leaving.

* * *

Sam opened her office door after that morning's briefing and closed it behind her. She looked at her desk and smiled to herself, she didn't have any paperwork to do today, thanks to Phil helping her the night before. She hardly had time to sit down before a knock on the door disturbed her from her thoughts. 'Come in!' she called.

Jo opened the door, 'guv, a new case has just come through and I was wondering if you wanted to work with me on it,'

'Thank you God,' Sam muttered, she turned to face Jo, 'yeah why not Jo, I could do with getting out of the office today,' she said. 'Fill me in in the car.'

Jo smiled at her as she watched her DI take her coat back off the hanger and follow her out of the office.

'So what is this case then?' Sam asked.

'PC Green and PC Gayle were called to an incident on Rudkin Road this morning and found an IC1 female unconscious in her house, it looks like she may have taken a drugs overdose, Beth and Ben found a used syringe lying beside her, they think its probably heroin. The victim's name is Catherine McDonald and she was found by a next-door neighbour. Catherine's in St Hugh's, we need to take her statement,'

Sam nodded as she got in the car, she was glad of an excuse of get out of the office, being out of the office meant that she didn't have to face Phil and therefore, put off the conversation that they would inevitably have about their fling the night before. She knew they would have to talk about it eventually; Sam had no idea what she was going to say to him and putting it off seemed like an obvious solution. Stuart couldn't find out about this, it would destroy him. It wasn't like it was anything new to her, keeping secrets from him; she had kept one secret from him for nearly sixteen years, to protect his feelings, she knew it would devastate him if he knew.

* * *

Sam and Jo arrived at St Hugh's about fifteen minutes later. They went to the front desk and were greeted by the receptionist, 'can I help you?' the receptionist asked.

'DI Nixon, DC Masters Sun Hill CID,' Sam replied as she and Jo showed the receptionist their warrant cards, 'we're here to see Catherine McDonald.'

'Third bed on the left,' the receptionist said.

'Thanks,' Sam smiled at her as she and Jo walked towards the bed that the receptionist indicated.

'Catherine McDonald?' Jo questioned towards the woman sat in the bed, she was blonde, early thirties and had blue eyes.

Catherine looked up, 'yeah,' she replied.

'DI Nixon, DC Masters, Sun Hill CID,' Sam said as she and Jo showed Catherine their warrant cards, 'we've come to ask you a few questions about what happened last night.'

Catherine gestured towards one chair beside her bed, Jo took it but Sam remained standing, 'do you remember what happened in the lead-up to you taking an overdose of heroin last night?'

Catherine nodded, 'I'd had a row with my boyfriend, Dave. He found my stash of heroin and asked if I was back on drugs. I was on them about nine months ago but he helped me get clean. When he found the stash last night, he shouted at me, saying that he'd been wasting his time trying to get me clean. Dave stormed out, I was devastated by what he'd said, I turned back to the drugs and injected myself,'

'Can you give us your boyfriend's address; we'll need to inform him,'

'Dave lives with me, at 27 Rudkin Road,'

Sam noted that down and smiled at her, 'who did you buy the drugs from?' she asked.

Catherine shook her head, 'I can't say,' she replied.

'Why not?'

'He threatened to beat me up if I told anyone,'

'If you tell us who he is, we can protect you, stop him from doing this to anyone else,'

Catherine shook her head again, 'I'm too scared,' she whispered.

'Right,' Jo said as she finished writing, 'we'll come back if we need anything Catherine,'

Catherine nodded as she watched Sam and Jo leave the ward. 'What next guv?' Jo asked.

'Let's go to Catherine and Dave's house, see if he's turned up yet,'

Jo nodded as they approached the car and got inside.

* * *

Jo and Sam pulled outside 27 Rudkin Road and saw that Ben and Beth still stood outside, Ben was restraining a white, early thirties man who trying to get into the property. Sam got out and walked towards Ben, 'what's happening here Ben?' she asked.

'CSE's almost finished in the house, this guy keeps trying to get into the house, claiming to be Catherine McDonald's boyfriend guv,'

'I am her boyfriend,' Dave replied, 'I live here with her.'

'And your name is?' Jo asked as she approached the group.

'Dave Phillips,'

'OK Dave,' Sam said, 'are you aware of the incident that occurred here last night,'

Dave shook his head, 'your girlfriend took an overdose, she's in St Hugh's,'

'Is she? Oh my God!' Dave exclaimed.

'Can you tell us what happened?'

'We had a row,'

'About?'

'I found her stash of drugs and accused her of using again. She's only recently got herself straightened out. I said a few things that I didn't mean, in the heat of the moment and stormed out,'

'I see,' Jo said, 'do you know who she would've brought the drugs from?'

'Probably her old dealer, Marco, I don't know his surname,' Dave said, 'I can't believe she'd have taken an overdose though,'

'Shall we take you to St Hugh's? Sam asked.

Dave nodded as he followed Sam and Jo back to the car and they drove off in the direction of St Hugh's.

* * *

'I think I've found him!' Jo exclaimed later that afternoon.

'Who this Marco guy?'

Jo nodded, 'Marco Massey, he's already got form for dealing and he came out of prison eighteen months ago after serving a five year sentence for possession with intent to supply,'

'That's got to be the guy,' Sam said, 'have you got an address?'

Jo pointed towards his address on the screen and Sam wrote it down, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Phil walking past, 'shall we pay him a visit now, see if he's at home,' Sam said.

'Yeah, why not,' Jo replied.

Jo stood up and followed Sam out of BIU.

* * *

'That was a complete and utter waste of time,' Sam said as she and Jo re-entered the CID office about an hour later.

'Why was it a complete waste of time?' Stuart asked as he turned around.

'Marco Massey wasn't at home guv,' Jo replied.

'Where else could he be then?'

Jo shrugged her shoulders, 'we could set up surveillance on his home, he'll have to go back sometime,' Sam said.

'That's not a bad idea,' Stuart replied, 'do you mind being a part of this surveillance operation tonight then Sam?' he added.

Sam shook her head, 'course not. You and the kids can survive one night without me, can't you?'

Stuart nodded his head, 'how about you Jo?'

'I can't guv, sorry. Made other plans,'

'Well, you can't do this on your own Sam, I'll find someone else to join you,' Stuart said as he left the main CID office.

On his way back to his office, he bumped into Phil. 'Ah, DS Hunter,' Stuart said, 'can I have a word?' he asked gesturing towards his office.

'Course,' Phil replied as he followed Stuart inside, closing the door after him.

'Have you got any plans for tonight Phil?' Stuart asked.

Phil shook his head, 'no, I haven't guv, why do you ask?'

'It's just Sam's on a surveillance operation tonight, to catch a drug dealer and I don't want her there on her own so I was wondering if you'd be prepared to join her,' Stuart replied.

Phil's heart skipped a beat, he was being asked to go out on surveillance with Sam, alone. He knew what he wanted to say to this; of course he was going to say yes. She had been avoiding him all day and this was the perfect opportunity to talk to her, find out where he stood after last night. 'Yeah, I'll do it,' Phil finally said.

'Great!' Stuart replied, 'I really appreciate it Phil.'

'No worries,' Phil said as he left the office, sighing happily at the thought of spending another evening in Sam's company.

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Apologies for the length of this chapter ;)

**Reviews always appreciated xxx**


	15. Secrets Of A Long Lost Affair

**Hey guys, next update for you. Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: buddies, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Tee, DetBarb and Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR).**

**I have already been told by someone (you know who you are) that this chapter is the best that I have ever written and I really hope you all feel the same.**

**I'll leave you all to read this while I'm off tonight having my Meryl Streep moment (that's a private joke, although some of you will know what I'm talking about :P)**

**And finally, this chapter is for Laura (S-Nixon) and Barb to whom I promised that this chapter would be up today.**

**Please keep reviewing, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxx**

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**Chapter 15- Secrets Of A Long-Lost Affair**

Phil watched Sam as she set up the surveillance equipment in the van a few hours later. The tension inside the van was becoming unbearable; she hadn't spoken to him since they'd slept together the night before. Phil hadn't been able to think of anything else since then and couldn't understand why Sam had been avoiding him; she had made her feelings quite plain to him last night. That was part of the reason why he had agreed to go on this surveillance operation tonight, he needed to know where he stood after what had happened between them, 'we've got to talk Sam,' he finally said, breaking the stony silence within the van, 'I can't go on as if nothing happened.

Sam looked up at Phil before she sat down and turned to face him, 'Phil,' she replied, 'I'm sorry…I'm sorry about last night, we'd both had a bit to drink and…'

'What are you saying?' Phil cut over her.

Sam didn't answer immediately, 'let's just forget it,' she finally said.

Phil looked at her incredulously, 'what?' he asked.

'If Stuart found out, I don't know what he'd say. We've only just got things back on track after Rachel,'

'He loves you, doesn't he?'

'Of course he does! I'm his wife,'

'And you?...Do you love him?'

'Yeah…I do,' Sam said after a moment's hesitation, a hesitation which did not go unnoticed by Phil.

'I should've known,' Phil replied.

Sam smiled slightly at him and rested one hand on his cheek, 'of course I love Stuart, he's my husband…' she paused, '…but my love for him is totally different to what I felt for you sixteen years ago.'

'In what way different?'

'I don't know Phil, it just is,' Sam snapped, 'why are we discussing this anyway?'

'You know why,' Phil whispered quietly, 'and I guess I just wanted to know where I stand,'

'I think you know where you stand already Phil,' Sam said, 'what about Cindy?' she added.

'I told you,' Phil replied, 'it's over, finished.'

'Is it? Is there no way of rescuing whatever it is that you two had?'

Phil shook his head, 'it's finished Sam. I knew it was over when you arrived back on the scene. I would've dumped her the day you arrived at Sun Hill had you been willing to reconcile what he had sixteen years ago, but you weren't. When we kissed, I realised I was being unfair to Cindy, giving her false hope, I knew what I had to do but I just kept putting it off, so I didn't think there was much point in telling you about my plans with Cindy when I broke off the engagement…'

'What?' Sam interrupted him, 'you were going to marry her?'

Phil nodded, 'yeah, we'd talked about kids and everything,'

'Kids? You?'

'Yeah,'

'Sorry, I just thought…' Sam trailed off, 'nah, it doesn't matter.'

'What?' Phil pressed her.

'I just thought that…you weren't interested in kids and all that,'

'Well, you're wrong,' Phil replied, 'I suppose I wasn't that interested in having them with her though, there was only ever one person I wanted all that with.'

Sam's heart skipped a beat; she didn't need him to elaborate any further. He still loved her, that much was obvious. Maybe she still loved him too but at the moment, she didn't know. Sam was glad they were talking now, despite the fact that she was still feeling guilty about betraying Stuart by sleeping with Phil the night before. That night with Phil had reawakened something within her, something that she believed had died the night she had chosen her family over Phil nearly sixteen years ago, the yearning to be loved in a way that Stuart had perhaps never truly loved her. She now realised what she had meant by her comment earlier on, the love that she had had for Phil, and perhaps still did have, was totally different to the love that she had for Stuart. She and Stuart had been together for eighteen years and the spark between them had gone, the love they had for each other was comfortable. With Phil however, it was different, no man had ever made her feel the way Phil did. 'I'm sorry,' she finally said, 'I had no idea…Hold on a minute, that evening when she came into the pub looking for you, you were engaged,' she added, looking for clarification.

'Yeah,' Phil replied, 'Cindy was jealous of you even then. From the moment you turned up, she was like a distant memory, nothing mattered, nothing except maybe, just maybe, we'd be together after all. But that's not what happened is it? You chose Stuart and the kids, just like the first time. What can I say? You would've done the right thing by your family, there was no competition,'

Sam looked up at him, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, 'that was the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my entire life,' she said, referring to when she had chosen her family over Phil nearly sixteen years ago, when she was pregnant with Adele.

'Yeah maybe, but in the end, you left me, humiliated, heartbroken and as far as I remember, begging you not to go,'

'I did what I thought was for the best,'

'Yeah, course. Good old Sam, putting everyone else's happiness before her own. Trouble is, what happened last night, just took me right back,'

'Phil,' Sam breathed.

'We've been waiting for so long, I've been waiting. Being with you is just like a dream,'

'Is that the way you've always seen me?' Sam asked.

'Always,' Phil answered.

'I wish it was that simple Phil, if there was just me to think about then…of course I'd consider it but…I've got Marcus, Adele and even Abi to think about. Stuart was and still is my chance to put what happened between us behind me,'

'I didn't see many signs of you putting it behind you last night; you wanted it just as much as I did,'

'Don't Phil, don't try to make this into something it isn't,' Sam said, 'I love Stuart.'

Phil sighed deeply, 'I do not want to hear this,' he said as he began to stand up.

'That's your answer to everything isn't it?' Go on then, go,' Sam challenged him.

Phil sighed to himself and sat back down, he didn't want to give Stuart another reason to dislike him, 'I thought I was going to die when you went back to Stuart,' he said.

'Why are you dredging up all this history?' Sam asked.

'Because it is still there,' Phil looked up at Sam, gazing into her eyes, 'I love you Sam…' she gasped, '…but I don't trust you. I can remember exactly where we were when that trust broke, it's one of those moments I wish I could forget…we were parked up in the old Vauxhall Astra on the hard shoulder of the M6, waiting for the recovery service to come out to us, it was cold, you were huddled in the smelly old dog's blanket I'd found in the boot. You told me you were pregnant and that you thought it was Stuart's…'

'It was a long time ago Phil,' Sam cut over him.

'…but it was you wrapped in that blanket, and it was me having my heart broken and it still is you and me, we are the same people,'

'I was gonna leave him,'

'Yeah, of course you were,'

'I was. I was going to go back, I was going to tell him about us then I was going pack my things, get Abi and Marcus and we were going to come to you. That was the plan but things didn't work out like that. If they had gone according to plan, me and you would've been together, I would've chosen you over Stuart. When I got back, Stuart came to the door with Marcus in his arms. While I was out, Marcus had developed a fever, he was hot and sweaty and…Stuart looked at me really calmly, I think he knew then that we needed to talk, so I took the baby off him while he went upstairs and cleared up the sick in the bathroom…romantic eh?' Sam laughed, 'needless to say, we didn't get a chance to talk that night, then it got harder and harder to do it and in the end I…just couldn't,'

'And of course, you were pregnant with Adele,'

'I wasn't entirely honest with you about that either,' Sam whispered.

'How come?'

Sam looked at him, 'you remember when I told you I was pregnant,' she said.

'Of course I do, as I said earlier, its one moment I wish I could forget,'

'Why do you say that?'

'You only told me that you thought the baby was Stuart's, I knew you were simply trying to ease the pain for me but you may as well have told me that the baby was definitely his,'

'No,' Sam said.

'No?' Phil repeated, 'what do you mean no?'

'When I told you I thought the baby was Stuart's the truth is…I had no idea who the baby's father was,' Sam replied.

'What are you saying Sam?' Phil asked.

'I think you know what I'm saying don't you Phil?'

Phil nodded, 'I just need to hear it,' he said.

Sam looked up at him, she knew she had to do this; she had kept it from him for far too long, 'she could be yours. Adele could be your daughter,'

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	16. Trying Again

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Apologies for the delay, you can blame my most recent obsession for that (some of you will know exactly what I mean by that ;))**

**Thank you to everybody who wished me a happy birthday. Yes, I did have a good time but I do think I should've drunk a little bit more alcohol before the Mamma Mia sing-along!!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter: Laura (****S-Nixon), DetBarb, Sam, Tee, Jodie, Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), buddies and HOlz Ox. Please keep doing so, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 16- Trying Again

Phil looked up at her, he had been expecting this but that still didn't take away the feeling he was experiencing. For the last fifteen years, there may have been a child out there that was half his. Not just any child though, this one was the youngest daughter of the woman he had loved and wanted for the past sixteen years. Of course he had suspected that Adele was his when Sam told him about the pregnancy, he just didn't challenge her and now, he wished he had done. Phil wondered why on earth Sam had never told him that it was possible that he was Adele's father. 'Why didn't you tell me?' he finally asked.

'I just did,' Sam replied.

'I meant why didn't you tell me back then that there was a possibility that she was mine?'

'What would you have done if I'd told you? Insisted that I leave Stuart for you?'

'Well…yes, I wouldn't have wanted Stuart bloody Turner bringing up my kid,'

'That's exactly why I didn't tell you,'

Phil turned to look at her, 'you what?' he asked.

'If Adele had been my first or even my second child then of course I'd have told you but I had Marcus and Abi to think about too. Marcus is Stuart's son, he wouldn't have let him go without a fight and Abi…well, he may only be her step-dad but he treated her like his own, she saw Stuart as the father figure that she hadn't had before he came along. I couldn't destroy all that and so…I just thought that it would be easier to say that Adele was Stuart's daughter. He was my husband, what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to lie to you and tell you that I was sure Adele was yours, or was I supposed to fight Stuart for custody and then ask you to look after my children? No, I didn't have a choice…I did what I thought was right…I was just trying to make the best of a bad situation,'

'It was a mess Sam, a complete mess, and you sacrificed me for them, and while you had a family and a life…Good old Phil waited,'

'I never asked or expected you to,'

'It wasn't up to you, I certainly couldn't help it. When you arrived back on the scene, I thought that maybe this was it, we would be together at last and all that waiting would've been worth it,'

'I never expected you to wait for me, I thought you'd have moved on, settled down with someone else and forgotten all about me,'

Phil smiled slightly as he reached out to touch her cheek, using his thumb to gently stroke it, 'I could never, ever forget you,' he whispered, 'and as for settling down and moving on, I tried but it didn't work because there was only ever one person I'd ever seen myself settling down with.'

'Do you want to know the real reason why I bottled out of leaving Stuart for you?' Sam asked.

Phil nodded, 'course I do,' he replied.

'My dad left my mum when I was four. A few months later, she got herself a new boyfriend, who then became my step-dad. As I grew up, the only thing I felt towards my mum was resentment, resentment towards her for bringing another man into the family a mere few months after dad had left. That's why I bottled it, I could see the same thing happening to Abi and especially Marcus, they were young and I didn't want them to resent me in the same way I resented my mum. Bringing you into their lives would've probably achieved just that,' Sam explained, 'in the end, I simply couldn't ask you to bring Abi and Marcus up as if they were your own. You said earlier that had you known of the possibility that Adele was your daughter, you wouldn't have wanted being brought up by him…Stuart probably would've probably felt the same way about you bringing up Marcus as yours.'

'If you hadn't turned up at Sun Hill…' Phil started, 'if we weren't sat here talking now…would you have ever told me about Adele?'

Sam looked up at him, 'I can't answer that Phil,' she replied, 'I honestly don't know. Adele still believes that Stuart is her dad, he might still be so. She has no idea that there is a possibility that someone- you- could be her dad. If Stuart died or something else had happened, I probably would've told her about our affair and I would've come and told you. I wouldn't have kept you in the dark forever.'

Phil smiled at her, 'that's some consolation I suppose,' he said.

Sam smiled back at him as she turned back to face the monitor. 'Anything happening?' Phil asked.

Sam shook her head, 'nothing. Mind you, I think its fair to say that we haven't really been paying attention,' she smirked, looking towards Phil.

'I guess not,' Phil replied, 'hold on,' he added.

'What?'

Phil pointed towards the monitor, Sam turned back to face it as a dark blue sports car parked up outside the address they were watching. They continued to watch the monitor as a guy got out of the car, looked around him and pulled a briefcase out from the back seat of his car. For a split second, Sam looked down at the photograph they had been given of their suspect, 'that's him,' she whispered.

'You sure?' Phil asked, Sam nodded, 'lets go and get him then.'

Phil opened the back door of the van and jumped out, followed closely by Sam. 'Marco Massey?' he questioned as he approached the guy with the briefcase.

Marco nodded; Sam and Phil held up their warrant cards. 'Police, you're nicked,' Phil said as Sam took the briefcase and cuffed him.

'What for? Is it crime to go out after dark now?' Marco retorted.

'I wish, that would make our job just that bit easier,' Phil replied.

'Phil!' Sam called out to him.

Phil wheeled around; Sam had opened up the briefcase and put it on top of Marco's car. They looked inside and saw the bags of heroin that lie within. Phil turned back around to face Marco, 'Marco Massey, I'm arresting you for possession of a class A drug with intent to supply,' Phil said as he read him his rights.

'I haven't done anything!'

'That's what they all say, come on,' Sam replied.

* * *

Sam and Phil arrived back at Sun Hill with Marco in tow a little while later. They booked him into custody and watched as he was put in a cell, 'we'll leave him to stew till the morning,' she said.

'Yeah, let's do that,'

Sam smiled at him as they both turned around and began to walk through custody, heading in the direction of CID.

'That conversation tonight did clear up a few things for me Phil,' Sam said as she opened her office door a few minutes later.

Neil had long gone home so the office was empty. 'What things?' Phil asked as he closed the office door behind himself and Sam.

'It made me realise how much I…how I wished I'd been able to do the right thing by everyone back then,'

'It's impossible to do the right thing by everyone Sam, whatever we do, there's always going to be one person that gets upset. I understand that you did what you thought was best,'

'Even though it meant keeping from you the possibility that you're Adele's father?'

Phil nodded, 'in the end, I guess there's no substitute for family,' he said.

Sam smiled up at him, 'what if we…' she trailed off, speaking in barely more than a whisper.

'Go on,' Phil replied.

'What if we tried again?'

Phil looked at her, 'is that what you want?' he asked.

Sam's gaze met his, 'yeah, I think it is,' she whispered, 'I wanna pick up where we left off.'

Their gazes locked for a few seconds, Phil leant closer to Sam and put a hand on the back of her neck as their lips met in a kiss. Phil deepened the kiss as Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck. Their tongues clashed together time and time again and Sam knew this was what she wanted. Phil was right, she had wanted it the night before too, she knew that. It had been her choice, she could have pushed him away the night before, but she hadn't because deep down, she knew that being with Phil was what she wanted and if she was honest, she had wanted that for that for the past sixteen years.

They pulled away and smiled at each other, Sam rested her head on Phil's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, 'I'd better be going,' she whispered.

'Do you have to?' Phil asked.

Sam nodded sadly, 'Stuart will wonder where I am, not to mention the kids,' she replied.

'OK then, I'll see you tomorrow then,'

'You will do,'

Phil smiled at her as he brushed his lips against her forehead. He left, leaving Sam alone in the office with nothing but her thoughts for company.

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	17. Inherited

**Hey guys, next chapter for you. Once again, I apologise for the delay in updating. I haven't written much for this in a while because my latest obsession has taken over some will know what that is!.**

**This may be the last update on this until I get my act together and write some more for this.**

**Thanks to everyone who has stuck by this story from the very beginning, you will never truly know how much that means to me :).**

**Thanks a lot to those who reviewed the last chapter: Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR****), Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Tee and DetBarb.**

**Please keep doing so, love you all Gemz xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 17- Inherited

Sam's mobile bleeped in her pocket a few days later. Glad of an excuse to further prolong doing the paperwork, she took her phone out. It was a text message from Phil, she smiled to herself as she read it: _Hey babe, you busy tonight? If not, how do you fancy coming over to mine 2nite, to show you what you've been missing for the last 16 years :P P xx. _

Sam read the message through twice and her stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, she already had plans for that night, she was taking Adele to the cinema. Sam didn't want to cancel the cinema but at the same time, she wanted to see Phil as well. An idea suddenly occurred to Sam, she called Phil and waited for him to answer.

* * *

Phil was sat in a car with Jo on Loftus Street when his mobile rang. He looked at it and then looked towards Jo, 'sorry Jo,' he said, 'I've gotta take this.'

'Don't mind me,' Jo replied as she continued to look out of the window.

Phil answered, 'hey babe,' he said.

'_I got your message Phil,' Sam replied._

'Are you free tonight then?'

'_I'm sorry Phil, I'm busy, I'm taking Adele to the cinema,'_

Phil's heart did a somersault, after what Sam had told him about her, he so desperately wanted to get to know her, Adele might be his daughter after all; this was the perfect opportunity to see what she looked like and maybe after that, he would know whether Adele was his daughter or not. _'Are you still there Phil?' Sam finally asked._

'Yeah, I'm still here. Its fine, if you've got other plans, don't change them because of me,'

'_Well…I was thinking that maybe you'd like to come with us,'_

Phil smiled to himself, 'yeah, I'd like that. What time shall I meet you?'

'_Shall we say 8:00 outside the cinema?'_

'That's fine with me; I'll see you then,'

'_See you Phil, bye,'_

'Bye,' Phil said as he hung up.

'Who was that? Cindy?' Jo questioned.

Phil turned to look at her, 'what are you talking about?' he replied.

'Was that Cindy you were arranging to see tonight?'

'You haven't heard?'

'Heard what?'

'Me and Cindy are finished,'

'Oh, I'm sorry Phil, I didn't know,' Jo said.

'What are you sorry for? I'm not,' Phil replied.

'So who was that?' Jo asked, returning to the subject of the phone call.

'That was just a friend,'

'Oh OK,' Jo said, not thoroughly convinced.

Phil smiled to himself as he thought about what was going to happen that night, him meeting the girl could turn out to be his daughter for the first time.

* * *

'Mum,' Adele said later that evening. It was about 7:30 and she and Sam were just about to leave for the cinema.

'Yes Adele,' Sam replied.

'Who is this guy that's coming to the cinema with us?'

Sam looked up at her, 'he's a friend of mine,' she said, 'he invited me out for a drink tonight and when I told him that I was taking you to the cinema, he asked if he could come too,' she lied.

'OK then,' Adele said.

Sam smiled at her, 'you ready to go then?' she asked.

Adele nodded as she picked up her handbag from the sofa and walked over to Sam, 'we'll see you later Stuart!' Sam called.

Stuart came to the kitchen door, 'have fun,' he said as he leant casually against the kitchen door.

'We will, see you later dad,' Adele replied.

'See you Adele,'

Adele smiled at Stuart as she followed Sam out of the front door.

* * *

Sam and Adele pulled the car up outside the cinema a little after 8 that evening. Sam saw Phil stood outside the cinema and smiled to herself. They got out of the car and walked towards him. 'Hey Sam,' Phil said.

'Hi Phil,' Sam replied.

Phil smiled at her before turning his attention to Adele, 'Phil,' Sam said, 'this is my daughter, Adele.'

'Nice to meet you Adele,'

Adele looked up at Phil and reluctantly shook his hand. Their gazes locked for a few seconds but that few seconds was enough for Phil, she was his daughter, he was absolutely certain of it, Adele had inherited his eyes. That was the only thing of hers that he recognised had come from himself, she looked more like Sam than him. 'We going in?' Phil asked.

'Yeah, come on lets go,' Sam said.

'What are we seeing?' Phil asked Sam as Adele went on ahead of them.

'Mamma Mia!' Sam replied.

Phil smiled at her as they entered the cinema.

* * *

'I just need the loo,' Adele said after they'd got their food and drinks. 'Look after this,' she added, passing her tub of ice cream.

Sam and Phil watched as Adele entered the ladies toilets. As soon as the door had closed, Phil turned to face Sam, 'my first chance to be alone with you since…' he trailed off, he knew that Sam would know what he meant.

'I know,' Sam replied, 'are you complaining?'

'Course not,' Phil said, 'I just would've liked to see more of you.'

'I wanna see more of you too but Stuart will get suspicious if I sneak off to see you too often, you know the risks I'm taking in carrying on with you,'

'I know what risks you're taking Sam, truth is, I think you're playing games with me, deep down, I don't think you care at all,'

Sam looked towards the door of the ladies toilets before turning back to Phil. 'Stuart's taking Marcus to a football match tomorrow, meet me tomorrow and I'll show you that I do care. As I said, you should know the risks I'm taking, why would I take those risks if I didn't care?'

'Promise?'

'Promise,' Sam repeated.

Phil smiled at her as he leant across to kiss her softly on the lips, he attempted to deepen the kiss but was stopped when Sam pulled away. Adele emerged from the ladies toilets, 'you ready?' Sam asked.

Adele nodded as she took her ice cream tub and walked off, with Sam and Phil following closely behind.

* * *

Adele, Sam and Phil emerged from the cinema about two hours later. 'You go and get in the car Adele,' Sam said as she passed her the keys, 'I'll be there in a minute.'

Adele smiled at her mum before turning to Phil, 'nice to meet you Phil,' she said, smiling politely at him.

'You too Adele,' Phil replied.

Adele smiled at him once more as she left the cinema foyer. 'Did you mean what you said earlier?' Phil asked, once Adele was out of sight, 'about meeting me tomorrow.'

Sam looked up at him, gazing into his eyes, 'course I did. I want to carry things on between us but you're gonna have to be patient. We've got to be careful; Stuart can't find out about us, it'll destroy him,'

'Then why do it, if you know how he's going to react to this, why take the risks?'

Sam looked up at him and rested a hand on his cheek, 'because it's you. No-one, not even Stuart has made me feel the way you do,'

'Really?'

Sam nodded as she leant towards him, kissing him softly on the lips. 'I'd better be going, Adele will wonder what's keeping me,' she said once she pulled away.

'I'll see you tomorrow then,'

'Yeah, you will. What time shall I come over to yours then?'

'It doesn't matter, just let me know when you're on your way,'

Sam nodded at him as they both began to walk towards the door.

Sam walked towards her car and stopped beside it, 'I'll see you tomorrow then Sam,' Phil said.

'Yeah, you will,' Sam replied.

She smiled to herself as she watched Phil walk away. Sam walked round to the driver's side and started up the engine before driving off.

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	18. Second Time Around

**Hey everyone! Here's the next update for you.**

**I profusely apologise for the delay in updating this, I kind of lost interest in this story for a while but I got inspired last night so I decided to kick start it.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story and continues to do so, I don't know where I'd be without you guys.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), ihearthuxon, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon) DetBarb.**

**Please keep doing so, love you all Gemz xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

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Chapter 18- Second Time Around

Sam woke up early the next morning, she rolled over and looked at the clock on her bedside table, it read 6:00, she smiled to herself. Sam was glad that Stuart was taking Marcus out today, she wanted to see Phil and prove to him that she wasn't messing him around, he loved her, she knew that but she still didn't know whether she felt the same about him. She had started this, perhaps she did feel the same and the feelings Sam had had for Phil sixteen years ago had been rediscovered. She had loved him sixteen years ago but in the end, that hadn't been enough, Sam's love for him hadn't been enough when two young children and an unborn child had been thrown into consideration. Now, there was nothing standing in their way, apart from Stuart, maybe this time, they could be together and ensure that history could not repeat itself.

She sat up and looked towards Stuart's sleeping figure. Sam sighed to herself, unable to believe that she was back in this position once more. Only this time, the only thing standing in the way of what she wanted was Stuart, she didn't need to put the kids first now. Sam had been doing that for the last twenty years and now, perhaps it was time to put herself first, for a change.

Sam pulled the covers back and quietly climbed out of bed, so as not to wake Stuart up. She crept towards the wardrobe and picked out her clothes for that day before heading into the bathroom.

She re-emerged fifteen minutes later, this time fully dressed. She looked towards the bed where Stuart was still asleep and sighed to herself before heading towards the bedroom door.

As Sam headed downstairs, she heard noises coming from the living room. She poked her head around the door and was surprised to see Adele curled up on the sofa in her dressing gown and pyjamas, 'you're never usually up this early on a Saturday,' Sam said.

Adele jumped slightly and looked up at her mum, she smiled, 'you're right there mum,' she replied, 'I got a call from one of my friends, Dawn, last night while I was waiting for you to come back to the car last night. She's organising a picnic for today and she wanted to know if I'd like to come too.'

'Sounds nice darling,' Sam said as she went to sit beside her, 'it looks like its going to be a nice day for it.'

'Hope so,'

'Have you had a cup of tea?' Sam asked, Adele shook her head, 'I'll go and get you one then.'

'Thanks mum,'

Sam smiled as she got up and went through to the kitchen to make herself and Adele a cup of tea.

* * *

'Where are Marcus and your father?' Sam asked Adele as she entered the living room a few hours later, it had just gone 10:15 and Sam was just about to head over to Phil's.

Adele looked up at her, 'dad's in the shower and Marcus is in his bedroom, trying to find his football shirt,' she replied.

'I see,' Sam said, 'anyway, I'll see you later darling,' she added as she kissed the top of her daughter's head.

'Where are you off to then?'

'Out,' Sam said vaguely, 'enjoy your picnic and tell Marcus and your dad that I'll see them later.'

'Will do, see you mum,'

Sam left the living room and picked up her handbag from the sideboard before walking towards the front door and opening it. As Sam closed the front door behind her, she took her mobile out of her jeans pocket and dialled Phil's mobile number. She waited until he answered, 'hello?' Phil answered.

'Hey Phil, its me, I've just escaped, I'm on my way over,'

'Great, I'll see you in a bit,'

'I'll be over in about ten minutes,'

'See you in about ten minutes then,'

'Yeah you will, bye Phil,'

'Bye Sam,' Phil said before he hung up.

Sam put her phone back into her jeans pocket and smiled to herself. She couldn't believe that she was here once again, risking her marriage for Phil once again. Sam hadn't stopped thinking about what Phil had said to her the night before, that she was just using him and didn't care, she knew that that wasn't true but Phil didn't, not yet, and she needed to prove it to him. She knew the risks she was taking in carrying on with Phil behind Stuart's back, hurting him, hurting Adele, hurting Marcus. If Sam was honest, things between her and Stuart hadn't got back to how they were before Rachel had arrived back on the scene, she no longer trusted him as much as she had done once upon a time. Despite being apart for nearly sixteen years, Sam still had feelings for Phil and she needed to know, she needed to know whether their love would be strong enough to keep them together second time around.

* * *

Sam walked up the path to Phil's house a little while later, her heels clicking on the concrete beneath her feet. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. A matter of seconds later, Phil's figure became silhouetted against the glass in the window. He opened the door and smiled down at Sam, her gaze met his but she found it rather difficult keeping it that way as Phil was only wearing a pair of faded tracksuit bottoms, a small smile began to creep across her face. 'You coming in Sam?' Phil asked.

Sam snapped out of her trance and looked back up at him, 'yeah, course I am,' she replied as she brushed past him, deliberately brushing her hand across his toned chest as she did so. Phil smirked to himself as he followed Sam through to the living room, 'listen Sam,' he started, 'I think I need to apologise for last night.'

'What have you got to apologise for, it was great, me, you and Adele,' Sam replied.

'Yeah, it was,' Phil agreed, 'what I meant was I didn't mean to suggest that you didn't care, I know the risks that you're taking now and I shouldn't have said what I did, I'm sorry,'

Sam looked up at him again, gazing into his eyes. Deep down, she knew he hadn't meant what he'd said but all the same, she was glad to hear him apologise for it. 'Apology accepted,' she replied as she reached out to take Phil's hand.

She gripped his hand and pulled him towards her. 'Trust me Phil, when you said last night that you didn't think I cared, you were so wrong,' Sam said.

'Really?' Phil questioned.

Sam nodded as Phil sat himself down beside her; she smiled at him as she leant towards him and brushed her lips softly against his. Sam pulled away and looked at Phil, as though looking for some kind of indication that she had done the right thing, she needn't have bothered as Phil pulled her back towards him and kissed her again, more passionately. This time, Sam deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer; she needed him, now more than she had ever needed anything. Phil rested one hand on Sam's jawline and rested the other on her waist. As he did so, his fingers slipped under the fabric of her top and gently began to caress her stomach. Sam suddenly pulled away, 'what's up Sam?' Phil asked.

Sam's gaze met his and she smiled, 'your fingers are cold,' she replied.

'Well…how about you help me warm them up then,' Phil smirked.

Sam smirked back at him and leant forwards to kiss him once more, deepening it almost instantly. She wrapped her arms back around Phil and allowed her fingers to trace the outlines of the muscles on Phil's arms. He pulled away and stroked her cheek, 'you know I want you, don't you Sam?' he whispered, his words setting her heart aflutter.

Her heart was beating rapidly against her ribcage; she knew that she wanted him too, she wanted to fall into his arms and feel the passion between them, she desperately wanted to feel Phil within her once again, her longing for him was like nothing she had ever experienced before, towards Stuart or any other man. Sam looked up at him, she could see the glint in his eyes, Sam opened the mouth to speak but words completely failed her, she closed her mouth and Phil smiled at her, he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'Let's go upstairs,' he said.

Sam's eyes met his and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Phil stood up and took her hand in his, pulling her up from her sitting position on the sofa. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. Sam reached upwards and wrapped her arms around his neck again and kissed back, more passionately than he had kissed her. Before she knew what was happening, Phil had swept her off her feet and was carrying her through the hall and towards the stairs. There was something oddly exciting about the way that Phil was treating her, it was the same as it had been sixteen years previously. In the eighteen years they had been together, Stuart had never treated her in the same way as Phil. As they reached his bedroom, Phil dropped Sam to her feet and put his hand on the handle. He looked at Sam and she smiled, he pushed down on the handle and opened the door. Phil took hold of Sam's hand and led her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

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	19. Together At Last?

**Hey guys. Next chapter for you, so sorry I have taken so long to update, my other obsession is STILL taking over my life. Thanks to Laura (****SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), ihearthuxon, Laura (S-Nixon) and DetBarb for reviewing.**

**Please keep doing so, lots of love Gemz xxxxx**

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Chapter 19- Together At Last?

'Now do you see?' Sam asked as she rested her head against Phil's chest a couple of hours later, 'do you see how much I care?'

'I do now Sam,' Phil replied, kissing the top of her head and lacing his fingers through hers. 'I never meant to suggest that I didn't you think you did. I'm glad that I've been proved wrong.'

'Good,'

Sam smiled up at him as he leant downwards and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away and lay back down on the pillow, 'can I ask you something Sam?' he asked.

'Course you can Phil,'

'How often did you think of me in the time we were apart? and be honest with me,'

Sam looked at him, 'Honestly Phil, everytime I looked at Adele, I'd think of you. You met her last night, she's got your eyes and everytime I looked at her, I'd wonder what would've happened if I had chosen you over Stuart back then. Of course, I did love you back then but in the end, that just wasn't enough. I had Marcus and Abi to think about too and if I hadn't had them, it would've been a lot easier for me to do what I wanted. Stuart never picked up on it, she looks more like me than she does him,' she said.

'She's certainly inherited your good looks,' Phil grinned, 'and what about now?' he added, his tone becoming more serious, 'do you still love me now?'

Sam sighed to herself, she had been expecting him to ask her that question and she didn't know how to answer it. Did she still love him? She didn't know but what she did know was that even if she did, she couldn't tell him, not yet anyway. Telling Phil that she loved him would mean kissing goodbye to her sixteen-year marriage to Stuart and she wasn't willing to throw that away just yet, for Adele and Marcus' sakes if nothing else. Since everything that had happened with Rachel, she had found it very difficult to put that behind her and forget it. Rachel had effectively been the catalyst which pushed her back towards Phil and Sam was aware of that. If Rachel hadn't turned up, maybe she wouldn't be lying in bed beside him now. 'I don't know Phil,' she finally said, 'I just need more time, to work out what it is I want. I am still married, you know that.'

'How can I forget?' Phil replied sarcastically, his tone softened, 'but deep down, I know that you're not happy with Stuart, otherwise, why would you be here?'

Sam's eyes met Phil's and she smiled, 'you know what Phil?' she said, 'sometimes, I think you know me better than I know myself.'

Phil smiled at her, 'you said that you and Stuart had got things back on track after the whole Rachel incident,' he said.

Sam sat up, resting her head against the headboard and pulling the sheet up around her, 'don't think I haven't tried to get things back to normal, for the kids sake if nothing else but it's difficult, I just don't think I can trust him anymore. If it had just been me and Stuart, no kids or anything else, I would've probably left him there and then. I thought him telling Rachel to stay away would have been enough, but it isn't, things were OK before she turned up but we can't get things back to how they were before because of what happened, it's still there, no matter how much I wish it could go away,'

Phil sat up too and pulled Sam towards him, he wrapped his arms around her and she rested her chin against his shoulder as they hugged. They pulled away a few minutes later, 'lets get dressed and go for a walk,' Sam suggested,

Phil looked at her, 'what for?' he asked incredulously, 'I don't need the exercise, I've had enough of that today already,' he added, a large grin spreading across his face.

Sam slapped him playfully on the arm. 'I'll make it worth your while,' she whispered, smiling seductively at him.

'OK then you've twisted my arm,'

'Always knew I could,' Sam replied as she got out of bed and began to retrieve her clothes.

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'You see? I'm not that hard to please,' Sam said as she and Phil walked hand in hand into Sherbourne Park, Sam was carrying an ice cream cone in her free hand.

'Who said you were? I never said that,' Phil protested, 'now, I bought you that ice cream on the promise that you'd let me have some, so where is it?'

Sam stopped walking and offered him the ice cream, he put his hand over hers and attempted to take it from her but she resisted. Phil gave in and leant downwards to take a bite out of the ice cream. All of a sudden, Sam pushed the ice cream cone into Phil's face, resulting in ice cream being smeared around his lips. She pulled the cone away and smirked at him, 'Sam!' he moaned, 'I'm gonna get you for that.'

'Really?' she asked, 'you'll have to catch me first,' she added as she ran off down the path.

Phil shook his head and began to chase after her. He eventually caught up with her and wrapped his arms around Sam's waist. 'Now,' he said as he spun her around so that she was facing him, 'what are you going to do about this?' he added, pointing to his face.

Sam smiled at him as she reached up and wiped off most of the ice cream with her fingers, which she then put to her lips. 'That better?' she asked.

'Much,' Phil replied as he leant downwards and kissed.

Sam deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around Phil's neck as her tongue entered his mouth. They had no idea that they were being watched…

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'Adele?' her best mate, Dawn, said as she poked her in the arm.

'What?' Adele replied, not looking at her she was too transfixed by what she was witnessing.

She could not believe what she was seeing, her mum kissing Phil. Suddenly, it all made sense, that was why she had invited him to the cinema with them the night before. She had thought that Phil coming to the cinema with them was bit strange; she just didn't say anything to Sam. Her heart sunk as she watched, she knew that things between her mum and dad hadn't been great for a while now, but bad enough for her to resort to this? Adele needed to know what had driven her mum to do this to all of them, had things between Sam and Stuart gone so wrong that they there was no chance of things ever going back to how they had once been?

'It's your turn,' Dawn finally said.

Adele looked down at the cards in her hand and laid one on the pile, 'uno,' she replied as she held up the one hand in her hand.

She looked around once more, unable to believe what she was seeing.

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Sam pulled away and smiled at Phil, 'here,' she said, passing Phil the remainder of the ice cream.

'No, you have it,' Phil replied.

'I don't want it, you have it,'

'If you insist,' Phil said as he took the ice cream cone off Sam.

She smiled at him as he wrapped his free arm around her waist. Sam wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his shirt as they began to walk.

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Sam and Phil arrived back at his house a little while later, 'are you going to come in?' he asked as they stopped outside the door.

She shrugged her shoulders, 'do you want me to?' she replied.

'I don't think you really need to ask, do you?'

'I guess not,' Sam said, 'go on then,'

Phil opened the door to the house and he and Sam stepped inside. They walked through to the kitchen and Phil wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up before sitting her back down on the worktop. He smiled at Sam and leant forwards to kiss her, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him back, Phil deepened the kiss and poked his tongue into her mouth as their tongues clashed together. They pulled away a few minutes later, 'thanks for today Sam, it's cleared up a lot in my eyes,'

'Has it?' Sam asked, 'such as?'

'You're the person that I think about most during the course of a day, even if I'm having a bad day, everytime you look at me from across the office and smile in my direction, that can change my mood almost instantly,' Phil replied, resting his finger on Sam's bottom lip, 'you see, that's what sort of effect you have on me. I love you so much Sam and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.'

'Are you saying what I think you're saying?'

Phil nodded, 'it doesn't take Rocket Science to see that you're not happy with Stuart. Leave him, then me and you can finally be together,'

Sam looked up at him, unable to believe what he had said. She knew he loved her but she still had no idea of how she felt towards him. Even after everything they had been through, she still loved Stuart, but she didn't know whether she loved him enough to stay with him. Phil was right though, she wasn't happy with Stuart and that was part of the reason why she had turned to Phil in the way that she had done. Nearly sixteen years on from the last time, Sam was in this position again and things had changed, her kids were pretty much grown up now so they didn't have to be her number one priority however, she still had to consider how it would affect them if she did choose to leave Stuart for Phil. Maybe now she could finally admit what deep down, she wished she'd had the guts to admit sixteen years ago; that she loved him, that she needed him. 'Phil,' Sam finally said, 'this isn't fair, I can't decide on our whole future just like that,' she clicked her fingers, 'I need to think about what effect this could have on the kids too.'

'Adele's my daughter,' Phil said.

'How can you possibly know that without doing a DNA test?'

'She's got my eyes, you said so yourself. She still believes that Stuart's her dad, how do you think she's going to react when she finds out you've been lying to her for her whole life?'

'You know I did what I thought was best at the time, and besides Phil, you're forgetting the fact that Stuart could still be her dad,' Sam said.

'You don't believe that!' Phil replied, 'do you?' he asked.

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'I honestly don't know Phil. I don't know what to believe anymore,' she replied.

'I see,' Phil said, 'look, there's no pressure Sam,' he added, as he rested his hands on her shoulders, 'I'll wait however long it takes because…I can't lose you again Sam, I just can't.'

'I'd better go,' Sam replied, rather reluctantly.

'Oh OK,' Phil said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

'I'll see you at work on Monday,' Sam replied as she reached up to kiss him softly on the lips before leaving the kitchen.

Phil heard the front door open and close after her and sighed to himself. He had fallen in love with her once again and now, she had left him waiting for an answer. He decided that he would give her all the space she needed, but never give up hope that she would tell him what he so desperately wanted to hear, that she was leaving Stuart so that they could be together at last.

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Reviews??


	20. Better This Way

**Hey everyone! Here's the next update for you. Sorry its taken so long for me to update, had a lot of other things on my plate.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who is persevering with this story, I promise you, it will be worth it in the end, when I get round to writing some more of it!!!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Barb who specifically asked me to update this so here you go!**

**Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think!**

**Love you all Gemz xxxxxxxxx **

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Chapter 20- Better This Way

Sam arrived back home a little while later and entered the living room. She jumped slightly when she entered and saw Adele sat on the sofa, hugging a cushion to her chest, 'Adele!' Sam said, 'what are you doing here? I thought you were having a picnic with your friends.'

'We were but I didn't feel well so I came back home,' Adele lied.

'Are you OK?' Sam asked as she sat beside her daughter and put her hand to Adele's forehead, leaving her bag on the sofa beside her.

Adele nodded, 'where have you been anyway mum?' she asked.

Sam felt her heartbeat quicken, did Adele know something about her and Phil? 'Just out and about,' she replied, she was deliberately being vague in the hope that Adele would drop it.

'Out and about where?'

'What is this? Twenty questions?'

'I'm just interested,'

'You never have been before so why now? It sounds like you're accusing of something,'

'OK then mum, I'll just come out with it, I saw you in the park, with Phil,'

Sam froze and her heart sank, she was afraid this would happen at some point. There was nothing she could say that would make this situation look any better. She had been cheating on her husband of sixteen years. This was one conversation that she didn't want to have but now, she had no choice. Sam stood up and turned her back on her daughter, 'you've been cheating on dad, haven't you?' Adele asked.

Sam didn't answer, 'how could you mum!' Adele shouted at her as she threw the cushion aside.

Sam turned to face her, 'you don't understand,' she said quietly, she was trying her level best to keep herself together.

'Then make me understand,'

'I can't, I wish I could sweetheart, but I can't,'

'I'm fifteen years old, not five. I'm not a kid anymore so stop treating me like one,'

'I know you aren't sweetheart. I know there is no way that I can make this any better and I wish that I could make you understand why this happening, but I can't. It's better this way,'

'Better this way?' Adele repeated incredulously, 'it would've been better if you hadn't cheated on dad in the first place,' she said and after a moments silence added, 'there is a way you can make it better, you can tell him to back off and stop trying to break you and dad up.'

Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath; it took every ounce of strength that she possessed to stop herself from telling Adele everything. 'I can't do that Adele,' she finally replied, 'the connection that I have with Phil is so…strong, its stronger than I am and I just can't resist it. Don't think I haven't tried, I fought so hard not to succumb to it but it kept coming back stronger and stronger each time until it eventually overpowered me. You know things between me and your dad haven't been great recently…'

'But bad enough for you to resort to this?' Adele interrupted.

'I thought him kicking Rachel out and asking me to come back would make everything alright, I was wrong,'

Adele looked at her mum, at a complete loss for anything to say. Of course, she still had no idea why the connection between Sam and Phil was so strong. She had no idea that of the possibility that their connection had always been this strong because they shared the ultimate bond. Adele could see that her parents' marriage was deteriorating and was desperate for them to patch things up, she didn't want to be part of a broken family. 'I'm going to get a shower,' Sam finally said, taking advantage of Adele's silence, 'you gonna be OK down here on your own?'

Adele met her mum's eyes and nodded. Sam smiled at her as she left the living room and began to climb the stairs. As soon as she heard the door to Sam and Stuart's bedroom close, she sat back down on the sofa and picked up the cushion, hugging it to her chest once more. Adele could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes and let them fall onto the cushion, rocking back and fourth on the sofa. She couldn't believe her mum had done this to her, to Marcus, to Stuart, what had they done to deserve this? Adele looked up at the mantelpiece through her tear-stained eyes and saw a photograph of all five of them: Sam, Stuart, Marcus, Abi and herself, taken at Sam and Stuart's anniversary meal the year before. She threw the cushion aside as she got up and walked towards the mantelpiece. She picked up the photo and looked at it, tears once again stinging her eyes as she sat back down on the sofa, wondering how their once happy family could've changed so quickly.

Suddenly, Adele had an idea. If her mum wasn't going to give her the answers she wanted, she would have to go and confront the other side of the equation. Adele smiled to herself as she wiped her eyes; she dropped the photo down on the sofa, beside Sam's bag and left the living room to go upstairs to her room.

Adele entered her bedroom and went straight over to the little end table beside her bed, looking for a very specific piece of paper. She found the bright orange post-it note almost immediately, it was impossible to miss. She looked at it and felt a savage pleasure shoot through her. All of a sudden, for the first time in her life, she hated her mum and although she didn't want her parents to split up, she wanted to cause Sam some of the pain that she had inflicted on her by cheating on her dad. What she would do to inflict that pain wasn't clear to her yet but in time, it would come to her. She knew she didn't want to keep this secret for her mum but at the same time, telling Marcus or even her dad would break up the family and she didn't want that either. Adele decided she had to see him, she needed to get his side of the story before she decided whether to expose the secret that could blow her family apart.

Adele went back downstairs and picked her handbag from the sideboard before she opened the front door and stepped outside, closing it behind her.

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Adele walked down Brisbane Close about fifteen minutes later and stopped outside number 22, Phil's house. She walked up the path and rung the doorbell. She saw Phil's figure illuminated in the glass as he unlocked the door. As it opened, his jaw dropped, he was clearly surprised to see Adele stood on his doorstep. _What is she doing here?_ Phil thought. 'What are doing here Adele?' he asked, voicing the question that was in his thoughts.

'I want to talk to you,' Adele replied, 'can I come in?'

Phil stepped aside to let her in, 'can't you talk to your mum?'

'Well, it's her I want to talk about. Well, you and mum,'

'What about me and your mum?' Phil asked, he was trying not to make it too obvious.

'Are you having an affair?' Adele replied bluntly.

Phil looked at her, he tried to utter a reply but nothing was coming out. He knew what he had to say but it just wouldn't come out, probably because the answer he wanted to utter was an absolute lie. 'No, we're not,' he finally lied, 'what makes you say that?'

'I saw you in the park this afternoon, you were kissing each other,'

Phil froze for a moment but regained his composure. 'It was nothing Adele, I promise you. We're not having an affair, we're just good friends, that's all,'

'Lovely!' Adele shouted, finally losing her cool with her mum and her mum's lover, 'since when has sticking your tongue down someone's throat been considered a gesture of friendship. I know Phil; mum as good as admitted it,'

'She did?' Phil asked, Adele nodded, 'I'm sorry Adele, it just happened,' he added.

Phil knew he couldn't say much about why he and Sam had been having an affair because of what had happened between them all those years ago and the possibility that he was Adele's father, and not Stuart as she believed. Phil knew Sam well enough to know that she hadn't told her any of that and had no idea whether she actually intended to carry on lying to her daughter or not. She had lied to her for her whole life, surely it was better for it all to come out sooner rather than later? All Phil knew was that it wasn't his place to bring all those issues to the surface, that was up to Sam to do, whenever she felt the time was right. 'Don't you dare tell me it just happened,' Adele said, the anger that she was feeling towards her mum was beginning to do the talking for itself, 'I am not a child anymore so will you all please stop patronising me! You've destroyed us, our family, we were happy until you showed up. Just back off and leave us all alone,' she added as she began to move back towards the front door.

'What are you going to do?' Phil asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Adele's hand hovered over the door handle as she turned around, 'I don't know,' she replied.

'You can't tell Stuart,'

'And why not?'

'Because he'll hate you for it. He won't believe you,'

'Who says he won't?'

'Who is he more likely to believe, his wife of sixteen years or his daughter? I know which one I'd believe,'

'He will believe me because, after all, its true isn't it,' Adele said, when Phil didn't answer she added triumphantly, 'see! And don't you dare start telling me what I can and can't do because…YOU AREN'T MY FATHER, OK?'

Phil struggled to keep his emotions in check. That outburst alone had confirmed one thing in his mind, she was his daughter. He had a fiery temper too and it had got the better of him sometimes. Of course, he couldn't tell her that. It was enough that he knew that. He wondered why Stuart had never picked up on that little fact but as he stared into Adele's face, he realised why Stuart had never suspected a thing, Adele looked a lot like Sam, everything about her face, she had inherited from her mother, except the eyes, she had his eyes.

When Phil didn't answer her, she turned back around and turned the door handle and stepped outside, closing the door behind. As she walked down the path, she could feel the hatred for her mother burning inside her, because of her betrayal. Now she had confronted the two halves, she had no idea what she was going to do.

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Reviews??

**xxxxx**


	21. Not An Update, Just A Query

**Hey guys!**

**I know it's been nearly two years since I updated this story so this is probably a bit of a blast from the past for you guys but never mind!**

**I was watching something this afternoon and it led me to find this story once again and it's got me thinking: I am at the moment considering writing a revamped version of this story, storyline will be the same and some of the writing will be too but I will be changed some bits, working title at the moment is History Has A Habit Of Repeating.**

**Just wondering whether anyone would be interested in reading a rewritten and revamped version of this story. If so, I'll start working on a plan I don't know when you guys will get to read it, got a few exciting things happening in my life in the next couple of months and one massive commitment to a fic posted elsewhere so don't know how much time I'll get to write this :)**

**It's just an idea for the moment but if anyone is interested, just let me know :)**

**Love you all, Gem xxx**


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